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Nicholas Garretson \'reeland. 



THHR BOOK: 

Wriltenarranged ^adaptgd 
BY ON E OF THEM 

WWW OIMT^oN VREELSIND 




Title parte and ofcher* di-awing/s by 

FR.flNCI5 WILLIAM Vl^EELflND^ 



Printed by CHflUNCELY H O L T- 
NOa7V^NDEPy%'" 3TIIEE.T • NEW YORK: 



HISTORY 



GENEALOGY 

of the 

VREELAND FAMILY 



Edited by 

NICHOLAS GARRETSON VREELAND 




HISTORICAL PUBLISHING CO. 

Jersey City, Nert) Jersey 

MDCCCCIX 







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Copyright 1909 

BY 

Nicholas G. Vrekland 



Cla.A,a3<* 112 
JUL 28 1909 




table: of 
contents 



CHAPTER. TITLE. PAGE. 

Foreword. 9 

Preface. 10 

PART FIRST — THE STORY OF HOLLAND. 

1 In Day.s of Caesar 17 

2 Fifteen Centuries of Struggle 20 

3 The Dutch take Holland 21 

4 Chaos leads to System 23 

5 Dutch War Songs : 24 

Beggars of the Sea 24 

Moeder Holland 29 

Oranje Boven 30 

6 Independence at Last 31 

7 Holland and its People 33 

8 Holland of To-day 41 

PART SECOND — THE STORY OF AMERICA. 

9 The American Birthright (Poem)... 49 

10 In the New World, 1609-38 53 

1 1 On Communipaw's Shore, 1646 57 

12 Settlement of Bergen, 1660 59 

13 Religion and Education 61 

14 Battledore and Shuttlecock, 1664-74 63 

15 Paulus Hook, 1800 66 

16 From Youth to Manhood, 1840- 1909 69 

17 Manners and Customs 73 

18 Nomenclature 76 

19 The True Dutch Influence 83 

20 Land Titles 90 

PART THIRD — THE STORY OF THE VREELANDS. 

2 1 An Old Vreeland Family 99 

22 The Town Vreeland, in Holland 104 



CONTENTS— Continued. 

CHAPTER. TITLE. PAGE. 

23 The Name Vreeland no 

24 Vreeland vs. Freeland 119 

25 Vreeland Coat-of Arms (Fac-simile in Five 

Colors) 122 

Vreeland Motto Song 128 

26 The Vreeland Record 131 

27 Vreelands and the Indians 135 

28 The Old Roof Tree (Poem) 138 

29 Some Vreeland Homesteads 139 

A Vreeland Poet 143 

30 The Vreeland Family 147 

31 Mother Vreeland 161 

32 The Fighting Vreelands 165 

A — We will not be Slaves (Dutch war song). 165 

B — Military Organization, 1663 166 

C — Call to Arms, 1775 168 

Z>— Roll Call of the Revolution 169 

E — Story of the Flag 1 69 

F — Vlaggelied — Flag Song 172 

G — War of 18 12-14 i73 

H — Mexican War, 1846 49 174 

/—Civil War, 1861-65 174 

A'— Roll Call of the Civil War 175 

L — A Tribute to Our Heroes 181 

M — A Boy's Recollections of War Times 182 

A^— The Book of the Wars (Poem) 186 

33 Historic Coins of Holland (Coincident with 

Vreeland History) 189 

Michael Jansen Vreeland the Leader 192 

A Trip to Holland 194 

PART FOURTH. 

Vreeland Genealogy, 1638 to 1909 198 

PART FIFTH. 

Vreelands of Yesterday and Today 283 



FOREWORD. 

The history of the Vreeland family, after the arrival 
of its progenitor in this country, is so nearly contempo- 
raneous with that of the settlement, that the story of the 
lalter's growth and expansion in most of their phases 
will encompass that of the family in whose particular 
interest this book is prepared. 

From the first occupancy of the land by white men 
the Vreelands by whatever special family nomenclature 
were prominent in almost every line of activity, leader- 
ship and progress. 

Official records plainly show members occupying prom- 
inent and important positions of honor and influence — 
possessing a full share of the characteristics of the 
sturdy and unbeatable race from which they emanated. 

The impress of their work can be found throughout 
the succeeding three centuries of life in the neighbor- 
hood, and to-day present holders of the name are in the 
forefront of every department of business, political and 
professional life. 

Michael Jansen was the founder of a family, which, 
in the many varied features of our country's existence, 
has been well and truly represented. 

By land and sea, in peace and war, in manufacture 
or commerce, in the pulpit, on the bench, or in other 
learned professions, the name is a familiar one. 

Individually, any and every member can be found to 
be eligible to the sentiment here expressed. 

"They love their Land, because it is their own ; 

And dare to give aught reason why ; 
Would shake hands with a king upon the throne ; 

And think it kindness to His Majesty." 

That is the characteristic Vreeland Philosophy. 



PREFACE. 

"Many things are lost to us, which were known to 
our Grandfathers, and our grandchildren will search in 
vain for things which to us are most familiar." 

The above may serve as a text to express the inten- 
tion which has grown upon me with passing years to 
put down some "things known to our grandfathers," as 
I have had them related to me, and have studied out 
from books, so that our grandchildren may not "search 
in vain for things" which ought to be familiar. 

Of course, I make no claim to perfection, but I hope 
that I have put into enduring form matters that will at 
least be interesting, if not always possessing more ma- 
terial qualities. 

The early history of the country from which our fore- 
fathers came to found a new world, is a closed book to 
any but earnest students, and the story of the struggles 
for Liberty and Independence, condensed though it is, if 
rightly absorbed, ought to make better Americans of 
every member of the Vreeland family, if such a con- 
summation be possible. 

Manifestly, the complete story of an individual branch 
of a nation's population would be next to impossible to 
discover from the incom])lete records of ancient times 
available, yet it seems to me that it is no more than fair 
for me to assert that the ancestors of the Vreeland family 
from the Tenth to the Sixteenth century, were doing 
their full share in the interests of their country's wel- 
fare, its trials and its struggles. In fact, the record and 
character of the family's representatives who came across 
the ocean to assist in founding a new country, as we 
know of them, added to the information and knowledge 
we have of the holders of the name in our native land, 
bears out the truth of this assumption. 



1 1 

The education achieved in the formation of the 
United States of the Netherlands was made use of on this 
side in the huilding up of a duphcate, which speedily 
outgrew its parent, as was natural, and, as was equally 
natural, Holland was the first of all European countries 
to extend the hand of brotherhood and generously recog- 
nize our existence as a sovereign nation. 

In his own words, John Adams (later President of the 
United States) said: "If there was ever among nations 
a national alliance, one may be found between the two 
republics, the United States of the Netherlands, and the 
tJnited States of America." 

He continued: "The first planters of the four North- 
ern states found in this country (Holland) an asylum 
from persecution, and resided here from 1608 to 1620. 
They ever entertained and transmitted to posterity, a 
grateful remembrance of that protection and hospitality, 
and especially that religious liberty they found here, 
after having sought them in vain in England. 

The first inhabitants of New York and New Jersey 
were from this nation and have transmitted their re- 
ligion, language, customs, manners and characteristics." 

As with the founders of the new country as a whole, 
so with the individual members of a particular family. 
The story of the country on whatever side of the ocean 
is the story of the Vreelands ; and is interwoven and 
intermingled in almost inextricable fashion, with the 
comings and goings, the exploits and the record of this 
family. This is my excuse for presenting the history 
in this style, believing that the achievements of the na- 
tion as a whole will in the future as in the past be an 
inspiration to every member and descendant to strive 
to be in the forefront and leave behind a record to which 
their children in their turn, can point with a just meed 
of pride. 



12 

In the procurement of material for the varied chapters 
of my story I am indebted to the painstaking efiforts and 
eloquent pencillings of historians of both alien and native 
extraction. 

The works of Motley, Meldrum, D'Amicis, De Heya, 
Smallegange, Winfield, Griffis, Lee, Taylor, Thompson, 
Backer, Dokkum and others, have been liberally drawn 
upon in addition to personal labors in other lines, in the 
great libraries of our own and adjoining cities. 

Members of the family and friends from the home 
towns in Holland have given their assistance and advice 
to make the story complete. 

The genealogical work of Hon. Charles H. Winfield, 
has by the kind permission of his son, H. W. Winfield, 
been used as a basis for this particular department, and 
with much labor and care and the collaboration of vari- 
ous members of the family, been corrected and brought 
down to date. If neglect of any particular family is ap- 
paient, this must be charged entirely to the indifference 
of living representatives, as more than five hundred let- 
ters have been sent to every address that could be dis- 
covered by the most diligent inquiry. 

Many of these letters met with no response whatever ; 
therefore, if the recipients do not find all that they ex- 
pect and hope for, in the way of completion of their 
particular family tree, they have only themselves to 
blame. But the Genealogical record is by no means the 
sum and substance of the scope of the book. It was the 
History of the family that I started to write, and the 
family details, while interesting and valuable in a degree, 
are only incidental to the main object. 

The Biographical sketches and Pictures, tell their own 
stories and are by no means the least interesting part 
of the book. 



13 

The collection of family portraits and pictures of the 
"Old Homesteads," make up a notable and unexcelled 
example of the kindness and courtesy of "my relations." 

In the hundreds of letters that I have sent out, seek- 
ing information regarding the different and widely scat- 
tered branches of the family, the interest shown in the 
answers received have been exceedingly pleasant to me. 

Old times have been recalled, old memories awakened, 
old friendships renewed, and I honestly believe that 
members of the family will be brought closer together, 
in a fashion that I sincerely hope will never again be al- 
lowed to drop into desuetude. 

Indeed, this feature alone beyond all the rest is to m« 
a reward sufficient for the remainder of my life. 

The acquaintances formed and renewed I shall value 
as long as life lasts, and I hope and believe that this 
sentiment is and will be felt by many of the other mem- 
bers of the family. 

The intelligence imparted by the Genealogical re- 
searches will be of supreme importance, binding together 
families residing in different sections into relationships 
hitherto unknown to either side. 

I could write an entire volume of reminiscences of 
my conversations and experiences with the representa- 
tives of the various branches. Without exception, these 
visits have been pleasant ones, sweetened with broad 
hospitality and enlightened with valuable information. 

In my turn, I have been enabled to dispel some deep 
seated illusions, — may I call them, — of the story of the 
family's origin in the old v/orld and advancement in the 
new one. The important points in this connection I have 
noted in the book. 

The book, as a whole, I submit as my heartfelt and 
loving tribute to ancestry and posterity alike. 

Nicholas Garretsox Vreeland. 



PART FIRST. 

The Story of Holland. 



CHAPTER L 

IN DAYS OF CAESAR. 

Of the people in Holland before the time of the birth 
of Christ we know as little as we do of the Indians in 
America before the white man came. 

We learn that the tribes in the swampy lowlands to 
the south were mostly of Celtic stock ; in the central 
portion were the Batavi, and in the north were the Fris- 
ians. 

The Batavians, after a division of the original Chatti 
tribe, settled in the German forests, moved westward and 
finding a fertile island, they called it by a name mean- 
ing "good meadow." 

The Romans came, saw and conquered the country, 
but their occupation was not long left undisturbed. His- 
tory tells us of battles fought in the land as early as 
9 B. C, and this sort of thing became a familiar occupa- 
tion throughout the length and breadth of the country. 

If age counts for anything, the Dutchmen in Holland 
may be well proud of the record of their ancestors ; the 
age of their country, and the duration of their language. 
In this last connection, one of them once wrote a book 
to demonstrate that Adam and Eve spoke Dutch in the 
terrestrial paradise. We have made little effort to ver- 
ify this last, but are satisfied to start as we have. Abler 
minds than ours have fully covered about every historical 
phase, and we will content ourselves with bringing the 
fruit of their combined labors into some faint semblance 
of a connected story, to show the stuff the early Vree- 
lands and their neighbors were made of. 

The northwestern corner of the vast plain which" ex- 
tends from the German Ocean to the Ural Mountains, 
is occupied by the countries called "The Netherlands." 



:8 

This small triangle, enclosed between France, Germany 
and the sea, is divided by the modern kingdoms of Bel- 
gium and Holland into two nearly equal portions. - 

Our earliest information concerning this history is 
derived from the Romans. 

The wars waged by that nation with the northern 
barbarians have rescued the island of Batavia from the 
obscurity in which it remained for ages. Geographically 
the low countries belong to Gaul and to Germany. It is 
even doubtful to which of the two the Batavian island, 
which is the core of the whole country, was reckoned by 
the Romans. 

It is, however, most probable that all the land with the 
exeception of Friesland was considered a part of Gaul. 

Three great rivers, the Rhine, the Meuse and the 
Scheld, depositing silt for ages among the dunes and 
sandbanks heaved up by the ocean around their mouths, 
formed a delta which became habitable at last for man. 
It was by nature a wide morass, a district lying partly 
below the level of the ocean at its higher tides, subject 
to constant overflow from the current, and to frequent 
inundations by the sea. The overflow when forced back 
before their currents by the stormy seas, rendered the 
country barely inhabitable. Here, within a half-sub- 
merged territory, a race of wretched ichthyopagi dwelt 
upon mounds which they had raised like beavers from 
the almost fluid soil. 

Here, at a later day, the same race chained the mighty 
ocean and his mighty streams into subserviency, forcing 
them to fertilize, to render commodious, to cover with a 
beneficent network of veins and arteries, and to bind by 
watery highways with the furtherest ends of the world, 
a country disinherited by nature of its rights. 

Thus, "hollow-land," or Holland, was born. 



19 

Some writers claim that Holland means "woodland," 
or "Hayland," but they offer little or no proof to sustain 
their contention. 

Foreign tyranny from the earliest ages, coveted this 
meagre territory, while the Genius of Liberty has in- 
spired as noble a resistance as it ever aroused in Grecian 
breasts. 

Records reach only to Caesar's time, and they show 
the territory tenanted by tribes of the Celtic family ; the 
heart of the country was inhabited by a Gallic race, but 
the frontiers had been taken possession of by Teutonic 
tribes. 

The Batavians were the bravest of all the Germans. 
Their young men cut neither hair nor beard till they had 
slain an enemy. The cowardly and sluggish only re- 
mained unshorn. They w'ere the favorite troops of 
Caesar. 

Of the Celtic and German elements the Netherland 
people has ever been composed ; the Gallic tribes were 
aristocracies. The Gauls were an agricultural people, 
having extensive flocks and herds. The Germans con- 
sidered carnage the only useful occupation, and despised 
agriculture as enervating and ignoble. 

It was base, in his opinion, to gain by sweat what was 
more easily acquired by blood. 



CHAPTER IL 

FIFTEEN CENTURIES OF STRUGGLE. 

Claudius Civillis was a Batavian of noble race, who 
fought wherever the Roman eagles flew. He consecrated 
the later days of his life to a noble cause. By his 
courage, eloquence and talent for political combination, 
he effected a general confederation of all the Nether- 
land tribes, Celtic and German ; but the outcome was un- 
successful. Old enemies proved too powerful, and Civil- 
lis was overthrown. 

For fifteen centuries the struggles of this kind were 
frequent. The characters, the events, the amphibious 
battles, desperate sieges, slippery alliances, the traits of 
generosity, audacity and cruelty, the generous confidence, 
the broken faith, seem so closely to repeat themselves, 
that history appears to present the sqlf-same drama 
played over and over again, with but a change of actors 
and costumes. 

The characteristics of the two great races portrayed 
themselves in the Roman and the Spanish struggle. The 
Southrons inflammable, petulant, audacious, were the 
first to assault and defy the Imperial power; while the 
inhabitants of the Northern provinces slower to be 
aroused but of more enduring wrath, were less ardent at 
the commencement, but alone steadfast at the close of the 
contest. 

The Netherlands were successively tramped by Franks, 
Vandals, Alani, Suevi, Saxons, Frisians and Sclavon- 
ians. 

The fountains of the frozen North were opened, and 
the waters prevailed. But the Ark of Christianity floated 
upon the flood. As the Deluge assuaged, the earth re- 
turned to chaos, the last Pagan Empire had been washed 
out of existence ; but the dimly groping, faltering in- 
fancy of Christian Europe had begun. 



CHAPTER IIL 

THE DUTCH TAKE HOLLAND. 

In the year 922 Charles the Simple, by letters patent, 
presented to Count Dirk, the territory of Holland. This 
narrow strip of land, destined in future ages to be the 
cradle of a considerable empire, stretching through both 
hemispheres, was henceforth the inheritance of Dirk's 
descendants. Historically, therefore, he is Dirk I, Count 
of Holland. Here too, undoubtedly, was the genesis of 
the Vreeland family. 

Five centuries of feudalism ensued with Might, not 
Right, prevailing. Fortified castles, including Castle 
Vreeland, dotted the surface of the country; the sword 
for a time was the only force ; mail clad knights en- 
camped upon the soil ; men became sovereigns in the lit- 
tle districts, affecting supernatural sanction for their au- 
thority in the sections which their swords had won. 
Duke, Count, Vassal, Knight and Squire, Master and 
Man struggled and swarmed ; Bishop and Baron con- 
tended ; castles were built and burned ; century after cen- 
tury the force of iron devastated and exhausted. Priest- 
craft, the might of educated minds, measured against 
brute violence, was another element; but the slower but 
more potent force, the power of gold, made all else yield. 

The importance of municipalities enriched by trade 
began to be felt. Commerce, the mother of Netherland 
freedom, changed the aspect of society; clusters of 
houses became towered cities ; wealth brought strength 
followed by confidence ; the baronial sword lost its power 
to make folks afraid. 

In the i6th century the Republic was born, after long 
years of agony. In every corner civilization built itself 
up ; by degrees the freemen built houses outside of castle 



22 

gates, and the land was divided into guilds, then into 
bodies corporate. 

Other sovereigns, counts and dukes arose, as time went 
on. 

Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Overyssel, Groningen, 
Drenthe and Friesland afterward constituted the United 
States of the Netherlands, one of the most powerful 
republics of history. 

Space will not permit of extended review of the long 
struggle, except to mention that the Counts of Holland 
ruled from 923 to 1299, followed by the dynasty of Hain- 
ault. In 1349, William Y. of Bavaria, came into con- 
trol, transferring to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. 

The Burgundy dynasty lasted for fifty years, and the 
dynasty of Austria held power for eighty-six years. 

In this time were Charles V. and Philip II. of Spain. 

Against Philip, William of Orange led revolt, and 
from 1568 Princes of the House of Orange-Nassau were, 
rulers. Although princes in their own right, in the 
Dutch Republic they were Stadt-Holders. From 1579 
to 1794, except for 20 years, the Dutch rulers were of 
the House of Orange. The Republic, in 1794, was under 
the invasion of the French, first in the form of the Ba- 
tavian Republic, and of the Kingdom of Holland. 

Centuries of feudalism preceded the republic of the 
i6th century. In hundreds of remote and isolated cor- 
ners, civilization built itself up, impelled by great and 
conflicting forces. 

Obliquely, backward, forward, but upon the whole, 
onward, the new society moved along, gathering con- 
sistency and strength. 



CHAPTER IV. 
CHAOS YIELDS TO SYSTEM. 

In 1814 the Dutch "took Holland" again, drove the 
invaders out, and formed a national constitution, and 
invited the Princes of Orange to be Kings, and at the 
present day. Queen Wilhelmina reigns, by the grace of 
God and the love of the people, and her son, born in this 
year of grace 1909, will be King of Holland some day. 

The population began to divide themselves into guilds, 
which became bodies corporate, with charters creating 
the right to be governed by law. Trade with the outside 
world increased by leaps and bounds ; cities advanced in 
wealth and importance ; the many obscure streams of 
Netherland history merged into one broad current, the 
material prosperity of the country increased. 

The erstwhile "Beggars of the Sea" made the Dutch 
name illustrious throughout the world, made the Span- 
ish Empire tremble, and swept the seas with brooms at 
the mastheads. 




A Holland Interior. 



CHAPTER V. 
DUTCH WAR SONGS. 

We are the "Beggars of the Sea," 
Strong, grey Beggars from Zeeland we ; 

We are fighting for Liberty ; 
Heave Ho, rip the brown sail free. 

"Beggars," but not from the Spanish hand ; 
"Beggars," under the Cross we stand; 

"Beggars," for love of the Fatherland; 
Heave Ho, rip the brown sails free. 

Contemptuously styled "Beggars," at the end of one 
of their protests, the people took the word as a rallying 
cry, and "Beggars" became synonymous with bravery. 
In fact, the main strength of Holland was derived from 
the ocean, from whose destructive grasp she had wrested 
herself, but in whose friendly embrace she remained. 
She placed the foundations of commercial wealth and 
civil liberty upon these shifting quicksands, which the 
Romans doubted whether to call land or water. En- 
riched with the spoils, of every clime, crowned with the 
divine jewels of science and art, she was one day to 
sing a siren song of freedom, luxury and power. The 
course and development of the Netherland nation was 
marked by one prevailing characteristic, one master pas- 
sion — the love of liberty, the instinct of self-government, 
wresting from a series of petty sovereigns a gradual and 
practical recognition of the claims of humanity. The 
combat is ever renewed, Liberty, often crushed, rises 
again and again from her native earth with redoubled 
energy. 

At last, a new and more powerful spirit, the genius 
of religious freedom, comes to participate in the great 
conflict. 



E DEB LAND. 
PATS-BAS. 

M.000.000 




I. UQ|(TUll^ ^U 



29 

MOEDER HOLLAND. 

We have taken our land from the sea; 
Its fields are all yellow with grain ; 

Its meadows are green in the lea 
And now shall we give it to Spain? 
No, No, No, No. 

We have planted the faith that is pure ; 
That faith to the end we'll maintain ; 

For the word and the truth must endure ; 
Shall we bow to the Pope and to Spain? 
No, No, No, No. 

Our ships are on every sea 
Our honor has never a stain 

Our law and our commerce are free ; 
Are we slaves to the tyrant of Spain? 

No, No, No, No. 

Shall we give up our long cherished right, 
Make the blood of our fathers in vain 

Do we fear any tyrant to fight ; 
Shall we hold out our hands for the chain? 
No, No, No, No. 

The Vaders and Aloeders sang this song on the great 
dike of Vaderland, and likewise in the "land across the 
sea" that Henry Hudson found for them. 

As each verse was sung at family or public gather- 
ings, the enthusiasm wonderfully grew, the short, quick 
denials became hotter and louder at every verse, and it 
was easy to vmder stand how these large, slow men were 
kindled to white heat, and thus became both irresistible 
and unconquerable. 



30 

At conclusion, the whole company would sing: 

O, Vaclerland, can we forget thee ; 
Thy courage, thy glory, thy strife ; 

O, Moeder Kirk, can we forget thee ; 
No, never, no never through life. 
No, No, No, No. 

ORANGE BOVEN. 

Will you have a pink knot, 

Is it blue you prize, 
One is like the fresh rose, 

One is like your eyes. 
No, the Maid of Holland, 

For her own, true love. 
Ties the bow of Orange, 

Orange, still above. 
O, Orange Boven, Orange still above. 

Will you have the white knot, 

No, it is too cold. 
Give nie splendid orange. 

Tint of flame and gold. 
Rich and glowing orange. 

For the heart I love. 
Under white, and pink, and blue, 

Orange, still above. 
O, Orange Boven, Orange still above. 

This was and is to-dav the Holland Maiden's love-song. 



CHAPTER VI. 

INDEPENDENCE AT LAST. 

Of the struggle that ensued in which the United 
States of Holland achieved their independence from 
Spain, there were eminent characteristics which reap- 
peared two centuries afterward in the struggle in which 
the United States of America achieved their independ- 
ence of Great Britain. 

Foremost in the struggle was William of Nassau, 
Prince of Orange, born to princely rank ; he owed every- 
thing to the influence of a godly mother. When it be- 
came evident that if his people were to be saved from 
extermination it was by resistance of arms, William came 
to his place as the natural leader of his people, and by 
tongue and pen, by ample fortune and superb general- 
ship, by watchful wisdom and indomitable courage, be 
became the father of and saviour of his people. He led the 
van in the fight of fearful odds, between the herd of 
crushed but enduring people and the stupendous power 
of Spain. Here stands forth in the clear white light of 
God, two grand achievements in human history which 
challenges the scrutiny of all men. 

God gives His Bible for men to read and out of this 
came such an emancipation of human kind as human 
eyes had never looked upon before. 

From Holland, the emancipation passed over to Eng- 
land, but England did not see what God was trying to 
do with her and for her. She drove out her best and 
bravest, and left Holland to pick them up ; nourish and 
educate them, and to send them to drop anchor on this 
Western Continent, to plant the seed, picked up from 
under the Tree of Liberty in Holland, here to grow and 
become, as it is to-day, a great tree in whose branches 
all the powers of heaven have their habitation. 



32 

Leave Liberty out of American history, and there is 
no history to be written. We hold to-day the birth- 
right devised to us by the men who came from Holland, 
bringing stones to build the new homes of Freedom. 
This was the kind of blood that ran in the veins of the 
provinces, and of which we are recording the story of 
one of the important emigrants and his descendants. 




Holland People. 



CHAPTER VIL 

HOLLAND AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Whoever looks for the first time at a map of Holland, 
wonders that a country so constituted can continue to 
exist. 

At first g-lance it is difficult to say whether land or 
water predominates whether the country belongs to the 
continent or to the sea. 

All people agree that Holland is a conquest of man 
over the sea, it is an artificial country; the Hollanders 
made it; it exists because the Hollanders preserve it; it 
will vanish whenever the Hollanders abandon it. 

When first inhabited by the tribes that wandered in 
search of a country, it was almost uninhabitable; there 
were vast, tempestuous lakes like seas, almost touching; 
morass beside morass ; one tract covered with brushwood 
after another ; immense forests of pines, oaks and alders, 
traversed by herds of wild horses. 

The deep bays and gulfs carried into the heart of the 
country the fury of the tempests ; some parts disappeared 
almost every year under the waters of the sea ; it was a 
sinister place, swept by furious winds, beaten by obstin- 
ate rains, veiled in a perpetual fog, where nothing was 
heard but the roar of the sea and the voices of the wild 
beasts and birds of the ocean. 

The first people who had the courage to plant their 
tents there had to raise with their own hands dykes of 
earth to keep out the waters, and lived within them like 
shipwrecked men upon desolate islands, venturing forth 
in quest of fish, game and eggs. 

Cffisar was the first to name this people, and his sol- 
diers contemplated with wonder and pity those wander- 
ing tribes upon their desolate lands, like a race accursed 
of Heaven. 



34 

Now, if we remember that such a region has become 
one of the most fertile, wealthiest and best regulated of 
the countries of the world, we shall understand the jus- 
tice of the saying that Holland is a conquest made by 
man, but, it must be added, the conquest goes on for- 
ever. 

To show how the existence of Holland demands an 
incessant and most perilous struggle, we will touch here 
and there upon a few of the principal vicissitudes of her 
physical history. 

Tradition speaks of a great inundation in Friesland, 
in the sixth century. 

From that time every gulf, every island, and, it may be 
said, every city in Holland, has its catastrophe to record. 
In thirteen centuries, it is recorded that one inundation 
has occurred every seven years. 

Toward the end of the 13th century, the sea swallowed 
up thirty villages near the mouth of the Ems. In the 
course of the century, a series of inundations opened up 
an immense chasm in Northern Holland and formed the 
Zuyder Zee, causing the death of more than 80,000 per- 
sons. In 142 1 the Meuse overwhelmed seventy-two vil- 
lages and 100,000 inhabitants; in 1532 the sea burst the 
dykes of Zeeland, destroying hundreds of villages and 
covering forever a large tract of country; in 1570, an- 
other inundation occurred in Zeeland ; Amsterdam was 
invaded by the waters, and 20,000 Frisians were de- 
stroyed; in 1825 North Holland, Friesland, Overyssell 
and Gelderland were desolated, and thirty years later the 
Rhine invaded Gelderland, Utrecht and North Brabant. 

It is plain that miracles of courage, constancy and in- 
dustry must have been accomplished by the Hollanders, 
first in creating and afterwards in preserving such a 
country. They drained the lakes ; drove back the seas 
and imprisoned the rivers. 



35 

To drain the lakes the Hollanders pressed the air into 
their service ; the lakes and marshes were surrounded by 
dykes ; the dykes by canals ; and, an army of wind-mills 
putting in motion force pumps, turned the water into the 
canals, thence to the rivers and seas. 

Thus, vast tracts of land buried under water saw the 
sun and were transformed into fertile fields, covered 
with villages and intersected by canals and roads. 

At the beginning of the loth century in North Holland 
alone, 15,000 acres, and in the whole of Holland from 
1500 to 1858, nearly a million acres were redeemed. The 
great Lake of Haarlem was drained and plans are now 
on foot to dry up a considerable portion of the Zuyder 
Zee. The rivers cost no less of labor and sacrifice; some 
were channeled and defended at their mouths, some 
bordered by powerful dykes ; others turned from their 
course, the waters divided to maintain the enormous 
liquid mass in equilibrium, where the slightest inequality 
might cost a province. 

The most tremendous struggle was the battle with the 
ocean. Holland in great part is lower than the level of 
the sea, and wherever the coast is not defended by sand- 
banks it has to be protected by dykes. 

From the mouths of the Ems to those of the Scheldt 
Holland is an impenetrable fortress of whose immense 
bastions the mills are the towers, the cataracts are the 
gates, the islands the advanced forts. The people live 
on a war footing with the sea; an army of engineers is 
spread over the country to watch over the waters and 
direct the defensive works ; an accidental rupture may 
cause a flood ; the perils are unceasing. 

At the first assault of the sea the sentinels shout the 
war-cry, and Holland sends men, materials and money. 

The mills turn in the canals the rain and sea waters 
twice every day, the sluice gates close against the tide 



36 

trying to rush in to the heart of the land ; the work of 
defense is forever going on, and the sea eternally knocks 
at the gates, beats upon the ramparts, growls on every 
side her ceaseless menace, lifting her curious waves to 
see the land she counts as hers, piling up banks of sand 
to kill the commerce of the cities, forever gnawing, 
scratching, digging at the coast. 

Holland is the land of transformation ; a map of the 
country of 800 years ago is unrecognizable ; the sea 
takes portions of land from the continent, joins islands 
to the mainland, breaks off bits and makes new islands, 
makes land cities of sea-coast municipalities, converts 
vast tracts of plains into archipelagoes of a hundred is- 
lets, separates a city from the land, forms new gulfs, di- 
vides provinces by a deep sea. Sterile lands are fer- 
tilized by sea slime, fertile lands are changed into deserts. 

But Holland has done more than defend herself against 
the waters ; she has made herself mistress of them, and 
has used them for her own defense. Should a foreign 
army invade her, she has but to open her dykes and 
unchain the sea as she has done before. Water, the 
source of her poverty, has been the source of her wealth. 
Holland draws the greater part of her wealth from 
commerce, but before commerce comes the cultivation 
of the soil, and the soil had to be created. 

With the first elements of manufacture, iron and coal 
wanting, with no forests, therefore no wood, and no 
stone, with nature refusing all her gifts, the Hollanders 
had to do everything in spite of nature ; Earth was 
brought from a distance. With peat taken from the 
bottoms, with clay extracted, the sand-banks were broken 
up, and the land was brought to a state of cultivation 
not inferior to more favored regions. Yearly $25,000,000 
worth of agricultural products are sent out and two 
million head of cattle are owned. 



37 

The genius of the Dutch people is in perfect harmony 
with the character of the country ; their distinctive char- 
acteristics are firmness and patience, accompanied by 
calm and constant courage. 

The glorious battles and the consciousness of owing 
everything" to their own strength, must have infused and 
fortified in them a high sense of dignity and an indomit- 
able spirit of liberty and independence. 

The constant struggle, the perpetual sacrifices must 
have made them a highly practical and economical peo- 
ple ; g"ood sense, economy, simplicity, tenacity, orderly 
activity, more wise than heroic, more conservative than 
creative ; by virtue of these qualities of prudence and 
conservatism they are ever advancing, acquiring and 
never losing their gains, holding stubbornly to ancient 
customs, preserving almost intact their own originality 
through every form of government, through foreign in- 
vasions, through political and religious wars and in 
spite of the incoming strangers it remains the one race 
that has kept its antique stamp most clearly. 

However wonderful the physical history of Holland, 
her political history is still more wonderful. The small 
territory invaded from the beginning by different tribes 
of the Germanic races, subjugated by the Romans and 
the Franks, devastated by the Normans and the Danes, 
desolated by centuries of civil war, this small people of 
fishermen and traders saves its civil liberty and its free- 
dom of conscience by a war of eighty years against the 
formidable monarchy of Philip H., and founds a repub- 
lic which becomes the ark of salvation to the liberties of 
all the world, the adopted country of science, the Ex- 
change of Europe, the station for the commerce of the 
world, a country which extends its domination to Java, 
Sumatra, Hindostan. West Indies and New York ; a re- 
public which vanquishes England on the sea, which re- 



38 

sists the united arms of Charles II. and Louis XIV., and 
which treats on equal terms with the greatest nations 
and is for a time one of the three Powers that decide 
the fate of Europe. 

She is not now the great Holland of the i/th century, 
but she is still after England the greatest colonizing State 
in the world. Instead of her ancient greatness she has 
tranquil prosperity, she retains the substance of the 
Republican regime although she has lost the form ; a 
family of patriot princes dear to the heart of the people 
govern tranquilly in the midst of her liberties, ancient 
and modern. Here is wealth without ostentation, free- 
dom without insolence, and taxes without poverty. 

She is perhaps of all European states the one where 
there is most popular education and least corruption of 
manners. Alone, at the extremity of the continent occu- 
pied with her dykes and her colonies, she enjoys in 
peace the fruits of her labors, with the comforting con- 
viction that no people in the world have conquered at 
the price of greater sacrifices liberty of conscience and 
the independence of the state. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

HOLLAND OF TODAY. 

A full half of the land of Holland is farmed by the 
proprietor, but he is a peasant proprietor; there are no 
large landholders as in other countries ; the men who 
breed stock are called "Boers," a class by themselves, 
self-reliant, rooted to the soil — the backbone of his coun- 
try. Flower and bulb culture, fisheries, butter and cheese 
making, gardening and other industries engage the at- 
tention of the people. 

Thickly studded over the lowlands are a thousand busy 
hives, hamlets that wear the air of villages, villages with 
the stir of towns, towns with all the paraphernalia of 
small cities, and small cities which hold up their heads 
with the pride of equality beside Amsterdam and Rot- 
terdam. The higher grounds are studded with the sum- 
mer homes of the city merchants, with splendid woods 
and avenues which it would be difficult to match any- 
where ; castles dating from the days of Charlemagne 
and crusted with age, are still existent ; the higher land of 
the east like the lowlands of the west, have a great vari- 
ety of scenery and exhibit the triumph of the people 
over nature. 

An old writer tells us : "In the valleys between the 
heather-clad hills are fertile fields, some sown, some 
mown, some covered with the white buckwheat blossoms 
like a sea of milk : from the highest hills we see in one 
glance the Zuyder Zee, the low waterland, the blue Vel- 
uwe, moorland, fields, meadows and woods." 

The western strip is the richest part of the Nether- 
lands, the portion most flourishing and the most pop- 
ulous, inhabited by the finest races and most closely as- 
sociated with the valiant deeds of the great wars. The 
cities of the lowlands breed the artists and scholars ; 
the seaports, the navigators. 



42 

The distinction of the three races, the Frisians, the 
Franks and the Saxons, is so marked that a Dutch geog- 
rapher has mapped out the sphere of their influence on 
Holland to this day. 

The sea clay in the north from Alkmaar to beyond the 
Dollard and almost all the low fen country in Friesland 
and Overyssel, the country parts of Waterland and Am- 
stelland, the islands of Walcheren, Schouwen and Beve- 
land in Zeeland, and the land of Axel ; that is the Frisian 
sphere. 

The Saxon is found in the Highlands of the East, upon 
the banks of the river Ysel and in the country to the east 
of Het Gore. 

The Frank upon the river clay in Gelderland and the 
country to the south, Ysel and the Waal, 'round Rotter- 
dam and about Utrecht. 

Within these limits are the spheres of the three races : 
typical towns are Leeuwarden for Friesland, Deventer 
and Zwolle for Saxon and Den Bosch for Frank. 

The Frisians have a turn for practical science, agri- 
culture, cattle raising, fishing and engaging in com- 
merce; the Saxons are manufacturers, the Franks tillers 
of the soil. 

Holland is less than one-third the size of Cuba ; about 
one and a half times that of New Jersey; the longest 
direct line across the country can be covered in a day. 

Learning is cultivated with a single mindedness for 
which Holland has been renowned for centuries. In 
fact, it may be safely held that there is no country in 
the world to-day that is better educated. 

Schools are plentiful, open to all, without considera- 
tion of religion, and education is not limited to the three 
"R's," but embraces improvement of the heart and mind ; 
"educated to all christian and social virtues." While 
education is not entirely free, the costs run from one 



43 

penny to four pence a week, and poor parents are exempt 
even from these fees. Religion in Holland is free, and 
no man suffers disability on account of creed. Two- 
thirds are Protestants, one-sixteenth Jews, and the bal- 
ance Roman Catholics. 

The whole history of Holland tells of a nation that has 
been established upon merchandise. Two centuries ago 
the Dutch were the greatest traders in the world. 

The Dutchman is conscious of the possession of ruling 
qualities, with physical habits so orderly that all the 
world thinks and talks of him as phlegmatic ; he is watch- 
ful and courageous, enduring of purpose, a man of long 
views. The land he lives in is at once the proof of 
that. To make it and keep it and to make it worth the 
keeping he has had that long fight with the waters in 
which after victories and defeats and loss and re-con- 
quest of territory, he has won at last ; and yet has won 
so barely that he dare not for a moment relax his vigil- 
ance against fresh surprises. 

The struggle with Spain — a handful of cities against 
the mightiest power on earth — carried on for eighty 
years in spite of defeat and difficulties, through three 
generations. Conceive a people achieving marvelous tri- 
umphs in drainage and land reclamation ; educating 
themselves ; producing the foremost scholars of Europe ; 
and a body of almost unparalleled artists, but also welding 
themselves into the greatest commercial and colonizing 
Power then existing in the world, and we have some idea 
of the endurance and long views of the Dutch of the 
time of the settlement of New Jersey and New York, 
three centuries agone. 

To-day all these liberties which people as opposed to 
individuals can fight for, Holland possesses. 

SHE IS AS FREE AS ANY NATION IN THE 
WORLD. 



44 

The Dutchman will have his rights ; he asks for no 
more. The sense of justice is one of his only passions. 
Howsoever he may be startled into an enthusiasm, a cool 
calculation succeeds it and he cuts clean through beauty 
in search of utility. 

Yet, withal, he is uncompromising and utilitarian, the 
Dutchman is a sentimentalist, plain of speech, a sufferer 
of no illusions, he is childish in his affections. 

The Dutch have an instinct for the precise and safe 
ordering of their lives, which is a direct outcome of the 
physiographical condition in which they live. The trim 
and sober towns, the straight lines of the canals, the ex- 
actitude with which they must be kept at their proper 
level, and the abiding sense in the people that they live 
and work in dependence upon a mechanical precision, 
all this has its direct and natural influence upon Dutch 
habits of life. 

Life in Holland is simple and it is safe. The people 
live comfortably and well ; wealth is evenly distributed 
and incomes are small; a millionaire is a rarity. 

Holland lives on, self-centered, entangling herself in 
no European questions ; splendidly administering her 
colonies; allowing no dreams of empire to tempt her into 
one moment's presumption of speech or action. 

It is easy to see a continuity and unbroken development 
of the national character ; and there lies in it still, ready 
to be quickened by any national danger, the strong and 
enduring qualities that leap forth to great ends in her 
golden days. 

Adapted from Meldrum's "Holland and the Holland- 
ers," published by Dodd, Mead & Co., New York. A 
work that we decidedly advise every reader of this book 
to purchase and read. 




Hendrik Hudson. 

First heard of in 1607, when he started on his fust voyage for 
the discovery of a Northeast Passage. Reached Nova Zembla 1608 ; 
sailed on third voyage in the "Half Moon," from Amsterdam, in 
1609; arrived in New York Bay September, 1609; sailed on last 
voyage and reached Greenland in i6io; discovered Hudson Bay. 
Crew mutinied and cast him, his son John and seven others adrift, on 
Midsummer day, 1610 ; no trace of him was ever found. 

While generally claimed as of English birth, some historians say 
that he was born in Friesland. 



PART SECOND. 

The Story of America. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE AMERICAN BIRTHRIGHT. 

The land lay hermited betwixt the seas 

As rich as now — gold in its hills, pow'r in its streams, 

warmth in its leas. 
Magnolia, maple, eucalyptus, pine. 
Were compass-points ; no dim and varying governmental 

line 
Wavered along its span, 
Although a man 

With skin of copper hue would sometimes bend to drink 
Above the brink 

Of some clear pool whose basin lay 
Hollowed in Nature's way — 
Irregular, and mossy at the brim, 
And friendly, beckoning the skim 
Of swallows and the feet of panting deer. 
And God was here, — 
Aye, God, with face enveiled by that fine fabric, we have 

come to know 
As Opportunity, — a fabric, oh most luminous, and lo. 
By faith, by tide, by wind, by evening star. 
Men came in little ships from lands afar, 
And bent their knees upon this hermit soil. 
And made it blossom with the wand of toil ! 

Beneath the cleavage of the flashing blade 

Tall trees were laid 

Prone in the forest, and the clearings, sweet 

With the lure of nurture, wooed the wheat 

And made each grain a stalk. 

Full-headed, while the gentle talk 

Of women graced the harvest, and the cabin fire 

In winter met the heart's desire 



50 

For comradeship and thoughtfulness and cheer; 
All the long year 

Was benisoned by labor, song and prayer, — 
And love was there. 

The Dutchmen bred, for in their loins lay 

The ancient urge of Nature. 'Tis the way 

Of sturdy sires to get them sturdy sons, 

And when the time-worn guns 

Rang out to save a heritage 

Of hope and toil. Youth vied with Age 

In opening its veins 

Upon the plains 

Of Monmouth and wet the fields of Trenton Princeton, 

too 
With crimson ooze from lips 

Which, to the last, spake couraged words of cheer 
From hearts which knew nor fear 
Nor mood to flee. 
Counting such death a victory ! 

The Nation's chief distinguishment is not its tow'rs 

Which, in the morrow's hours 

Alay fall. Nor is it in the lines of steel 

Spun far to gain the weal 

Of traffic. Nay, rather must it e'er be seen 

Enduring, glorious, serene, 

Within the souls of its own sons who were and are 

Dreamers of Truth beneath the great white Star 

Of Progress, pendant in the vaulted sky 

To light this land to its good destiny. 

Our institutions change, likewise our laws ; 
The program of the Seasons knows its pause ; 



51 

The very rivers thread along 

New courses, and the lark's blithe song 

Is altered by the meadow's mood ; 

But every onward rood 

Of the long path our fathers chose, — 

Down to the very close 

Of days, — is ours to dare, elate and free, 

Clothed with that ancient loyalty 

To Right which made America the land whose name 

And birthright we so proudly claim. 




Going to Church. 



CHAPTER X. 

IN THE NEW WORLD. 

"A very good land to fall in with and a Pleasant 
Land to see." This was the pronouncement of the sturdy 
old navigator, Henry Hudson, as he sailed inside of 
Sandy Hook, three hundred years come next September 
the Third ; and the words attributed to him, three cen- 
turies ago have in no sense been less truthful up to the 
present day. 

Previous to the advent of Hudson, whose exploit has 
made permanent impress upon the history and fame of 
the "land he fell in with," there are recorded stories of 
other discoveries by English, French, Portuguese and 
Spanish adventurers. In 1497, so tradition goes, John 
and Sebastian Cabot sailed from England and discovered 
the coast of North America, but the first actual visit to 
New York Bay is attributed by ancient chroniclers to 
Jean de Verrazanno, in 1524. Old Governor Peter Stuy- 
vesant gave this French gentleman his endorsement. 
Stories are also told of one Estavan Gomez, a Portu- 
guese, coming in 1525, but Henry IV. of France, claim- 
ing ownership by virtue of Verrazanno's discovery, gave 
possession of all the country, surrounding the bay which 
included the present site of Jersey City, to one Desmonts. 

James I. of England, in true English fashion ignornig 
all other claims, three years later granted to the London 
Company the same territory. 

French and Spanish together were at that period mak- 
ing desperate attempts to break down the spirit and 
destroy all vestige of enterprise appertaining to the Hol- 
land Dutch people, but the latter were built of stuff that 
could not be downed so readily, and were constant and 
persistent in their efforts not only to hold their own, 
"but to extend their commerce, and among the adven- 



54 
tures fitted out was that of Hudson who was engaged 
to sail "due west," in search of new lands to possess and 
as stated at the beginning of this chapter, he discovered 
a "very good land" in September, 1609. 

No sooner had he got the salt washed out of his eye- 
winkers and had taken a good look around, than did he 
bear testimony to the satisfaction he felt. His records 
show that he found the shore as "Pleasant with Grass 
and Flowers, and Goodly Trees as ever I had seen, 
and very sweet smells came from them." 

In the spirit of the hospitality of the nation in whose 
employ he was, Hudson struck acquaintance with the 
Indians at Communipaw and wrote down that he found 
them "Civil and Kind." 

He made a survey of the Harbor, and upon his return 
his report so pleased the authorities and the business 
men that they fitted out one vessel after another until 
the Dutchmen had attained a strong foothold and estab- 
lished several trading posts on the borders of the bay and 
river, with consequent great advantage and solid comfort. 

There was no element of permanence in the settle- 
ment. The traders sent here upon Hudson's return to 
Holland had no intention of remaining in America be- 
yond the time that would pass while their ships crossed 
the sea, and came again for the furs which meanwhile 
they were to secure. 

Fort Manhattan was simply a trading post and this 
would be continued only while it was profitable. That 
the temporary settlement would develop later into a 
town, was a matter wholly aside . from the interests in 
view. 

Not until the year 1621 when the Dutch West India 
Company came into existence, were measures taken for 
assuring a substantial Colonial life to the Dutch settle- 
ments in America. 



55 




This Company was in the nature of a commercial 
federation, with branches in the several cities in Holland ; 
and the trading post at Manhattan claiming authority 
over the territory from the Virginia Plantations north- 
ward to New England, and inland indefinitely, became 
the portion of the Amsterdam branch, wherefore the 
name of New Amsterdam was selected. 



CHAPTER XI. 

ON COMMUNIPAWS SHORE. 

The Dutch headquarters were located in what had been 
named Manhattan Island, but one of the most active and 
energetic merchants, Michael Pauw, chose the west bank 
of the river for his settlement, and honest Dutchman 
that he was, applied to the native Indians and purchased 
their rights to the land required. His grant was then 
endorsed by the Governor of the Province. 

He built a house at Ahasimus, afterward called Pa- 
vonia, and established a sort of branch office at Aresick 
which was in charge of his son, Michael Paulison. The 
last named thus became the first white resident of what 
is now Jersey City and he named his tract Paulus Hook. 
In 1634 he sold out to the New Netherlands Company 
for 26,000 florins (about $10,000) and the new owners 
installed Jan Evertson Bout as manager. He selected 
Communipaw near the mouth of Mill Creek, as his home 
upon the hill that was a prominent feature of the land- 
scape for over 200 years, until the activity of the Central 
railroad compelled its levelment. This elevation was 
known as "J^^"' cle Lacher's Hook," (John, the Laugh- 
er's Point). 

This idea of giving people a handle to their names, 
Avhich covered the main attribute of their make-up, was 
a common feature in those days. The writer's grand- 
father was known as "Handsome Gat," and his father 
was "Curly Gat." In view of the paucity of common 
names, a handle of this sort was almost a necessity. 

In 1636, Cornelius Van Vorst was appointed super- 
intendent of Pavonia, but at frequent intervals the gov- 
ernment was changed, and so much trouble was experi- 
enced in trying to govern things at long range that the 



58 



Company in 1638 sold Paulus Hook for 550 guilders and 
leased Communipaw for a quarter of the crop, two tiuis 
of strong beer and twelve capons yearly. 

The then Governor Kieft by his arbitrary actions and 
his passion for "graft," had incurred the ill-will of the 
Indians who retaliated by burning nearly all the houses. 

In 1646, Michael Jansen (Vreeland), the common 
ancestor of all the holders of that name in this country, 
bought Communipaw for 8,000 florins ($3,600), and 
soon became a leader in the community. 

The Indians, however, were not placated, and in 1655 
they burnt every house and killed or captured every 
white person except the Jansen family. No attempts 
were made to re-occupy the place until 1658, when Gov- 
ernor Stuyvesant acquired a new deed from the Indians 
and under his protection and good advice the redskins 
were quieted. 



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CHAPTER XIL 

SETTLEMENT OF BERGEN. 

The beauty of the hill west of Communipaw attracted 
the New Netherlanders, (a feature, by the way, that is 
still in active operation). 

These city folk were anxious to get back to their orig- 
inal avocation as farmers, but the authorities taking 
warning by past trouble with the Indians, were un- 
willing to grant isolated farms, so decreed that all the 
farmers must live in groups that could be protected by 
fortifications. 

So, in 1660, upon petition of Jansen and others, a plot 
was selected upon the present site of Bergen Square, 
eight hundred feet in dimensions each way. Roads were 
laid out across the middle (now Bergen avenue and 
Academy street), and other roads were laid around the 
outside boundaries (now Van Reipen avenue and Vroom 
street, Tuers avenue and Newkirk street). 

A plot in the center was reserved for a public square, 
and a stout palisade was put all around the outside 
boundaries with gates at the ends of the cross roads. 

Each settler received a grant for one of the thirty-two 
plots. In one year the little settlement which had adopted 
the name "Bergen," had grown to the importance of a 
separate government, church and court, with our Mich- 
ael Jansen as one of the first magistrates. A public well 
was dug in the center of the square, and this continued 
in active use for 150 years. It was covered over in 
1812, and a liberty pole planted in it to celebrate peace. 
This pole remained until 1870, and with scarcely a lapse 
was the center of interest on the Fourth of July of each 
year, with cannon salutes and flag raising at sunrise and 
a frequent rendezvous for public gatherings. 




Dr. Benjamin C. Taylor. 

Pastor of the Dutch Reformed Churches of Acquackanonck 
Bergen for upwards of half a century. 



and 



From Winjield's History of Hudson County. 



CHAPTER XIIL 

EDUCATION AND RELIGION. 

In 1708 a log school house was built on one corner of 
the square and a church erected on the corner of Bergen 
avenue and Vroom street. The school for many years 
was under the supervision of the church, using the same 
building. When the separate school was built, we find 
Michael Jansen's name as one of the first contributors 
and subscriber to the church building fund. 

The school plot has never changed its character ; in 
1790 Columbia Academy was erected, and in 18 14 was 
succeeded by School No. i, and this was replaced in 
1907 by the magnificent building that now occupies the 
site. 

Franklin school No. 2 was built on the corner of Mon- 
ticello and Harrison avenues in 1854 and was used con- 
tinuously until March of this year. When the site hav- 
ing become very valuable for business purposes, the 
school was abandoned and the land sold for more than 
one hundred times its original cost. 

The first church service was held in a building near the 
corner of Vroom street and Tuers avenue until the erec- 
tion of a church building in 1680. In this building, 
which was octagonal in shape, seats were placed around 
the walls for the men, while the women occupied chairs in 
the center. The minister was placed in a high pulpit and 
the "voorleser" held his position just in front. This last 
mentioned ofificer filled the pulpit in the absence of the 
minister, led the singing, rang the bell and taught the 
school; no regular preacher was secured until 1750, the 
congregation depending upon supplies from New York. 
Rev. Gaultherius Dubois preached for fifty-two years in 
this wav. In 1753. Rev. William Jackson was ordained 
and installed in T757. with George Weeland as one of 



62 

his elders. In 1773 a new church was huih and in 1792 
Rev. John CorneHson was caUed, and he preached until 
the advent of *'Domine" Benjamin C. Taylor in 1828. 
The latter served until 1871. It will be seen that there 
were but three ministers in 121 years. In 1841 the pres- 
ent church main edifice was built, Rev. Cornelius Brett 
was installed in 1876 and still continues as pastor. 

Up to 1830 the Reformed Dutch Church of Bergen 
was the only building used for church purposes from 
Bergen Point to New Durham. 

Ever progressive the Dutchmen had established other 
settlements. In 1643 what was afterward called Green- 
ville, now a portion of Jersey City running from ]\Iyrtle 
avenue to the Morris Canal, then known as "Minkakwa," 
"the place of the good crossing," was established. 




A Trip by Water. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK. 

In 1664 the English vexed at the encroachment, as 
they called it, by the Dutch people, compelled the sur- 
render of New Netherland and its constituencies. The 
new owners divided New Jersey into two provinces 
called East Jersey and West Jersey and conveyed to 
Lords Berkeley and Carteret by deed from the Duke of 
York, all the lands within its borders. 

On September 20, 1666, a new charter was granted 
to the Town of Bergen by Governor Carteret confirming 
all the rights granted by the Dutch Government. 

In 1672 war again broke out between the England and 
the Dutch states, and the next year New York which had 
been named in honor of the English governor, was again 
in possession of Holland, and the name was changed to 
New Orange. 

In 1674 peace was declared, one clause in the treaty 
restoring the country to the English, but the manners 
and customs of the Dutch were so deeply implanted that 
they have not been entirely effaced to this day. 

In 1680 there were about sixty families in all about 
Communipaw, five in Pavonia, seventy in and around 
Bergen and one in Paulus Hook. 

When Bergen was originally laid out each town plot 
had an outside farm to go with it, the remainder of the 
land was common property. Fifty years later this land 
was surveyed and the ownership of 8,000 acres settled. 
A survey and field book was made and this remains to 
this day the basis of land titles in Jersey City. 

For the succeeding century little of public interest oc- 
curred — the settled portion experiencing the usual slow 
growth of farming communities, members of the Vree- 
land family being at all times prominent factors in the 
business and official life of the place. 



CHAPTER XV. 

PAULUS HOOK. 

Bergen remained the head of the settlement and Paul- 
us Hook was considered the least valuable section. In 
1698 Cornelius Van Vorst purchased sixty acres for 
$1,500. Settlements had been made at other points, the 
city of New York had become a commercial center and 
travel from points west and south converged at Paulus 
Hook, which created demand for better ferry facilities. 

The first ferry had been established at Communipaw 
with a Vreeland as ferryman ; but in 1764 a new post 
route was established between New York and Phila- 
delphia, the trip taking twelve hours, and this brought 
about the ferry from Courtlandt street. New York, to 
Paulus Hook, at the foot of Grand street. Trips were 
made by "perriauguas," "as the wind served." The ferry 
and the tavern on this side were under one manage- 
ment, and the owner, being a born monopolist, some- 
times arranged the boat trips so as to land the passengers 
on this side too late for the stage which ran up Grand 
street and out Brown's Ferry road to Newark and be- 
yond. The ferrymaster's tavern became necessarily the 
stopping place for the passengers for the morning stages. 

IN THE GOOD OLD STAGE-COACH DAYS. 

The "rolling stock" of 1795 were virtually springless 
cars, built to carry twelve persons. Their seats were 
merely boards, without either cushions or back-rests, 
with no accommodation for baggage except such as could 
be packed beneath the seats. Light curtains at the sides 
furnished the only protection in bad weather. 

In such a rig, and over roads that still twisted around 
charred tree stumps and were filled with the oft-men- 
tioned "quagmires," the passenger was always willing to 



67 

climb cut in the mud to assist the driver in rescuing the 
machine from ruts or bogs ; each morning, whether it 
was fair or stormy, he was aroused at the dreary hour 
of 3, and dressed by the sleepy Hght of a horn lantern 
and farthing candle ; then, with more haste than their 
progress afterward warranted, he had a frugal breakfast 
with his fellow passengers and rattled off again for an- 
other day's thumping and bumping until lo o'clock in 
the evening. When finally at his destination, he won- 
dered "at the ease as well as the expedition with which 
the journey had been effected." 

The tavern host was the gleaner of the world's news 
as recounted by his many guests. His advice was sought 
upon all matters, whether of private or public import- 
ance. They were men of prominence and personal worth, 
for it would have been difficult for any one else to have 
obtained a license. Sometimes a crest or coat of arms 
denoted a lineage from families opulent and distin- 
guished in the old country. They perforce were genial 
and open-hearted and could entertain as well the obscure 
traveler as men" of fame and prominence in affairs. Im- 
posing personalities from the Continent were at times 
their guests ; such men as Baron von Humboldt, Louis 
Philippe, Lafayette or the brilliant Prince Talleyrand, and 
such native political heroes as Webster, Clay and Adams, 
and distinguished men of letters and business. Able to 
set for their guests a table "fit for a king," they were 
able, also, to preside with dignity and grace at that self- 
same table. 

The Revolutionary War brought about stormy times 
to the section, but added little to the land conditions, ex- 
cept the building of some new roads by the military au- 
thorities. 

Many skirmishes were made in and around the set- 
tlement, but what has since been known as the Battle of 



68 

Paulus Hook was the only engagement of moment, and 
that has been so fully described that no repetition is ne- 
cessary here. General Washington made his headquar- 
ters in Bergen in October, 1776, but evacuated after a 
stay of less than a week, beginning the retreat across the 
state to the far side of the Delaware. 

In August, 1780, General Lafayette, who had come 

from France to the assistance of Washington, marched 

-to Bergen and made his headquarters in the Van Wag- 

enen house on Academy street. He entertained General 

Washington in the orchard back of this house. 

On November 24, 1783, the British left New York, 
and once more peace reigned. 



CHAPTER XVL 

FROM YOUTH TO MANHOOD. 

The history of Bergen is coincident with that of the 
entire country. 

As has heen shown, the first settlement by white peo- 
ple was within its borders, but matters municipal con- 
tinued in the old-fashioned way, except that the heredit- 
ary trustees were supplanted by elective township offi- 
cials. In these elections the \'reelands were frequently 
called upon to serve the public weal. After the forma- 
tion of the county and the separating of towns and cities 
had reduced the tov/nship to the section below the Penn- 
sylvania railroad, a new charter for the 'Town of Ber- 
gen," was obtained in 1855, the population then com- 
prising 4,972 souls. 

The new town comprised the original Bergen, the set- 
tlement around Bergen Square, Lafayette, a new portion 
of old Communipaw, Claremont, the site of another 
land speculation, Greenville, a small settlement com- 
prised principally of members of the \Teeland families, 
and Bayonne, the southern extremity of the county. 
Stages were the means of public conveyance until 1859 
when the street railway was opened. The natural beauty 
of the hill attracted residents from the cities then as now, 
and the old place woke up, population increased twenty- 
five per cent, in five years. 

Bayonne cut loose in 1862, and a year later the town 
of Greenville was created. Although reduced to an area 
of from 7,007 acres to 2,726 acres, the Town of Bergen 
grew and grew, and in 1868 achieved the distinction of 
a city, with a mayor and all the rest of the "fancy fixins." 

For two years, things municipal were carried on at top 
speed, streets were opened and paved, new schools built, 
and all other city improvements brought in. In 1869 the 



70 ^^ 

question of consolidation was discussed in public meet- 
ings, and the matter culminated on March 17, 1872, 
when the Legislature passed an act giving a charter for 
the consolidated city. 

The ratables in the united city were $44,639,730. In 
1873 a new charter was obtained, more in consonance 
with prevailing conditions, the police force was reorgan- 
ized, a paid fire department created, a high school pro- 
vided for, and many streets connecting the three parts 
of the city completed. Bergen from a country village 
was converted into a thriving community, and to-day is 
the show section of the citv. 




In the picture, we see Claas and Catryntje strolling 
along Communipaw's shore with Father Vreeland sit- 
ting on his front stoop enjoying his long pipe, and moth- 
er Vreeland and Pryntje in close proximity. 



CHAPTER XVIL 

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 

The Dutch settlers were generally persons of deep, re- 
ligious feeling, honest and conscientious, and adding to 
these qualities those of industry and frugality, they gen- 
erally became prosperous. The style of their buildings 
they doubtless brought with them from Holland, their 
Fatherland. 

These were generally built with one story, with low 
ceiling and nothing more than the thick boards which 
constituted the upper floors laid on monstrous broad and 
heavy beams. In this upper section they stored their 
grain sometimes in part of it and oftener set off sleeping 
apartments as the family increased in size. Their fire- 
places were usually very large, sufficient to accommodate 
the whole family, with comfortable seats around the fire. 
The chimneys were wide enough to admit of having their 
meat hung up in them and smoked. The jambs were 
set around with earthen, glazed tiles, imported from 
Holland, ornamented with Scriptural scenes. 

Their early style of building corresponded with their 
habits, which were simple, unaffected and economical, 
contributing materially to their independence and solid 
comfort. 

They brought up their children to habits of industry, 
almost every son being taught some mechanical art, and 
every daughter being required to become acquainted with 
all knowledge necessary to housekeeping. 

The farmers burnt their own lime, tanned their own 
leather, often made their own shoes and boots, and did 
much of their own carpentering, wheelwrighting, etc. 

The spinning wheels were set in motion in proper 
season, and all material for clothing the family was 
manufactured at home. 



74 

No female was considered a suitable candidate for 
marriage who could not show stores of domestic linen 
and other evidences of industry and economy. The wo- 
men often helped the men in the fields, in times of plant- 
ing and harvesting. 

Such a thing as a carpet was almost unknown ; the 
floors of the houses were scrubbed and scoured and 
kept as clean as their tables upon which last named ar- 
ticles of furniture, cloths were conspicuous by their ab- 
sence. 

Frugality, industry and economy characterized all of 
their actions. They lived chiefly within themselves and 
knew but little of the dangers and diseases incident to 
luxury and indolence. 

The shad fisheries and oyster grounds in the two bays 
gave extensive and profitable employment to many. 

In their family intercourse they continued to use the 
Dutch language. Their word was their bond. If they 
toiled hard and earned money, they studiously endeav- 
ored to save it by prudent investment ; they indulged in 
no costly equipage or dress, and in home-spun garments, 
neat and clean, they visited the market places and the 
sanctuary. 

With the young of both sexes the custom long pre- 
vailed of riding on horseback, especially at New Year's, 
Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide. In the evening the 
rides were taken going in pairs, a beau and a belle 
mounted upon the same animal, the latter seated behind 
with firm grasp ujion him who had sought the favor of 
her company. 

Go where you might, you were sure to see near the 
parental dwelling the huge stepping block, with its con- 
venient and wide notches serving for steps. This once 
favorite mode of youthful pleasure gave way to com- 
panies of two pairs each in a substantial wagon, in later 



75 

clays superseded by the buggy and now by the automo- 
bile. 

Weddings were alTairs of two-days merry-makings, 
after weeks of preparation of food; the young couple 
were given a farm set ofif from the parental acres, a 
house built and furnished and stocked with food. 

As the new family increased, the young Americans 
were sung to sleep by some old Dutch nursery rhymes, 
among which the following is a sample : 

Trip a trop a tronjes; 

De vaarken in de boonjes ; 

De koejes in de claver; 

De paarden in de haver; 

De eenjes in de waterplass ; 

So grote mijn kleine kinder wass. 

A free translation of above : "The mother's knee is for 
a little child, a little throne ; where he can be happy as 
pigs in beans, cows in clover, horses among oats, or 
ducks in the water." 




CHAPTER XVIIL 

TSIOMENCLATURE. 

It is a task of considerable difficulty to trace the gen- 
ealogy of a Dutch family because of the varied customs 
of Hollanders and their descendants. One of these was 
patronymic, (father's name), in which the man would 
be called by two names, first, his own christian name, 
second, the christian name of his father, to which let- 
ters are added which stand for "son." Thus, Michael, 
son of John, or Jan, or Johann, would be Michael Jan- 
zoon, or Michael, the son of Jan. His sons would be 
Michelzoons, and so on. 

This practice, however, was not general nor compul- 
sory, as in many cases the original sur-name was main- 
tained, especially in the cases of governing families, as 
is shown in the story of Governor Vreeland (Chapter 
21 ) and of Mother Hartman (Vreeland), the first dating 
back to 1580, the last to 1591. This is likewise proof 
that Vreeland, as a family name, existed in Holland at 
least half a century previous to the emigration to this 
country. 

The families of Governor Gerrard (Garret), Vreeland 
and Michael Janzoon (Vreeland), were near neighbors, 
scarcely ten miles apart, separated only by a narrow 
stream of water. Indeed, back in 15-1600 it is doubtful 
if even this physical obstacle existed, as Zeeland was 
broken up into islands at a later date. 

Our IMichael was evidently for the time being a farm- 
er, as is evidenced by his taking up this occupation upon 
his landing here ; but the mercantile proclivity must 
have had lodgment in some portion of his system and 
education, when we study his transactions in fur trad- 
ing w'hich were cut short by the West India Company's 
edict, and his later extensive dealing in cattle and lands. 



77 

A legal knowledge was possessed in both branches, too, 
as ]\Iichael became a judge and his grand nephew^ a gov- 
enor, while both families were prominent factors in the 
colonization schemes of their mother country in Japan 
and in America. Both families were advisers of the 
ruling powers, Michael in the Council of Governor Stuy- 
vesant of New Amsterdam, and Gerrard in charge of 
the Dutch possessions in Japan, and his grandson as 
Governor, while his granddaughter married a Ikirgo- 
master of Rotterdam. Gerrard Vreeland's father was 
Johann, which was also the christian name of Michael's 
father. It would therefore seem that a not very far- 
fetched inspiration would declare them to be close rela- 
tions, if not indeed own brothers. 

We have proved that the family name Vreeland ex- 
isted at least half a century before the emigration, and 
now we find proof that a certain Johannes Vreeland was 
a resident of Amsterdam in 1740, one century thereafter, 
and studied theology in the famous university of Ley- 
den. This may account for the theological tendencies of 
the dozen or more Vreelands reported in our Genealogy. 

In our chapter on the Town \'reeland we have shown 
how the family scattered from thence to different por- 
tions of Holland, and the big city of Amsterdam at- 
tracted not a few of them. 

Vreelands are numerous to-day in various parts of 
Holland, notably Friesland and South Holland prov- 
inces. 

The title Vreeland or Vredelant, which is the same 
thing in Dutch, applied to an important settlement in 
the province of Utrecht, goes back to the tenth century. 
The curator of the Riks Museum in Amsterdam writes 
me : 

"I believe that your ancestor's family came from Vree- 



78 

land and that the family name was taken from that 
place." This confirms my own deductions as set forth 
in chapter on the "name Vreeland." 

Another method of nomenclature intended to obviate 
the difficulties of an identity of names for the time be- 
ing, but which really rendered confusion worse con- 
founded for the genealogist, was to add to the name 
the occupation of the individual. Thus, Laurence Jan- 
sen, the inventor of printing, had affixed to his name that 
of Coster, that is, "sexton," an office of which he was in 
possession of the emoluments. Another man, son of 
Hendrick, engaged in a different occupation, would be 
Tennis Hendrickson Brouwer (brewer), and his son 
William Teunison Bleeker (bleacher), and so on. 

It often happened that one brother would take his fa- 
ther's surname as his family name, while another would 
take his own occupation or personal designation. 

A third practice was to append the name of the place 
where the person resided, not so often a large city, but a 
particular limited locality. This custom is denoted in 
many of the family names of to-day which have the 
prefix of "Van" (of), Vander (of the). Ten (at the). 
Thus, we have \'anderveer (of the ferry), Vanderbilt 
(of the hill), Vanderbeek (of the brook), Ten Eyck 
(at the oak). Ten Broeck (at the marsh) and so forth. 
Van Home, Van \'orst, Yun Wagenen, Van Ripen, \'an 
Winkle, all from towns in Holland. The Newkirks were 
"Vans" once, but dropped the prefix. 

It might be said that previous to the fifteenth century 
there were no iixed family names at all. The son took 
his father's name, while the daughter had to wait until 
she was married to be entitled to any surname at all. 

The confusion produced by these customs or lack of 
custom, at last brought forth an imperial edict to the 



79 

ettect that the original family name must be used as the 
designation for every descendant of that family, and thus 
those of the Vreelands who had temporarily forsaken the 
name of their forefathers for reasons peculiar to their 
present environments, came into their own again and re- 
sumed the name to which they were entitled. 

That the custom of selecting a new family name with 
each generation was fashionable, we might cite the fact 
that the Prince of Orange was Martin Williamson ; the 
King of Denmark was Pieter Pieterson ; the ruler of 
England was Henry Philipson, and so on, and it was not 
until the fifteenth century that a stability of nomencla- 
ture was apparent. As stated at the beginning of this 
chapter, the name Garret Vreeland has been found in 
1585, and this is possibly as far as the names as applied 
definitely to the family can be fixed. Before that it was 
Gerrard van Vredelant (Garret of Vreeland), but the 
Vreeland was there and no mistake about it. As much 
can be said of but few of the other patronymics now in 
use in this country. 

I quote an old authority which in every word confirms 
my deductions : Kiiiglithood and Nobility in Holland. 

"The inhabitants of Christendom in all lands were 
commonly divided or separated into three conditions or 
sorts of persons ; as the Ecclesiastics ; the Nobility and 
the Burghery, under which were comprehended the 
husbandmen. 

"The first were for teaching the service of God, or Re- 
ligion. The second, living from their own income from 
land, etc., were defenders of the land and the other two 
classes with their arms. The third got their living by 
handiwork, knowledge, skill, invention, merchandise, cul- 
tivating land and the like. 

"The nobility of Holland have their surnames nearly 



8o 

all from a village, house, or tract of land owned by them 
or their forefathers, and before such surname place the 
little word 'Van" or use a surname derived from the 
first of their race." 



Governor Stuyvesant's Home on the "Bouwerie," New Amsterdam. 



CHAPTER XIX, 

THE TRUE DUTCH INFLUENCE. 

Thus, while around the wave subjected soil, 

Impels the nature of rejected toil. 
Industrious habits in each bosom reign. 

And Industry begets a love of gain. (Goldsmith). 

The true Dutch influence has been of a most enduring 
character throughout New Jersey. 

Underlying all assertions made that the Dutch sought 
a religious asylum in the new world, is the ever recur- 
ring fact that the nation was moved by an impulse of 
territorial acquisition in the partition of a new conti- 
nent and the economic advantages derivable therefrom. 

Indeed, the Hollanders at home enjoyed a large de- 
gree of religious freedom, and while they transplanted to 
America a spirit of toleration, the contention that they 
came to America solely to seek such an advantage falls 
to the ground. 

Nevertheless it must not be forgotten that to the 
Hollander is due the credit for establishing the principle 
of purchasing Indian title to land ; that he planted, wher- 
ever he went, his church and his school, that in spite of a 
certain intensity of obstinate pride, he respected civil 
authority and lent his aid to the upbuilding of a moral 
state. 

In politics the Hollander took the side of justice to the 
oppressed ; in religion he fought to the end for the sake 
of principle. 

While New Amsterdam was struggling for existence, 
old Amsterdam was the center of a life of culture and 
refinement, where science, art and music as well as the 
learned professions, were joined in a community of in- 
terests. 



84 

While such progress at home found at first but faint 
reflections in America, the hardships which the colonists 
encountered for the commercial glory of the mother 
country must ever be to Holland as great a compensa- 
tion as their presence to distant generations of America 
was a gain. 

We have shown the Dutch influence in and around 
New York, but this extends further. As early as 1570 
thousands of the best people of Nederland, persecuted 
at home by their Spanish enemies, fled to England and 
became subjects of Queen Elizabeth. 

Many changed their names, Kuypers became Coopers ; 
Dewiitts became Dwights, Groens, Greens, etc. 

Not a few of their grandsons emigrated to America ; 
some of the bluest blood of New England w^as Dutch 
before it was English. 

Many Americans who to-day boast of the unmixed 
English stock, are descendents of Dutch ancestors. At 
least one-third of the company of the Mayflower were 
born in Holland. 

Looking southward, we find William Penn, the son of 
a Dutch mother, and backed by a very great proportion 
of Dutch settlers, peopling Pennsylvania, and so it goes. 

The Dutch influence in New England may be shown 
in the name Rhode Island, Dutch Rood Eilant (red 
island), Housatonic formerly Woostenhook. 

The Dutchman gave New York its tolerant and cosmo- 
politan character, insured its commercial supremacy, in- 
troduced the common schools, founded the oldest day 
school and the first Protestant church in the United 
States, and were pioneers in most of the ideas and insti- 
tutions we now boast of as distinctly American. 

When the English conquered in 1664 free schools were 
abolished and forcible attempts were made to establish 
the political church of England. These and other en- 



85 

croachments of kings and their agents brought on the 
Revokition a century later. 

In the making of our country the steady, patient, intel- 
Hgent and conservative Dutchmen have been a powerful 
force, too often ignored by those who write our nation's 
history. 

DUTCH PHILOSOPHY. 

Take the world as it is, there are good and bad in it ; 
And good and bad will be, from now to the end ; 
And they who expects to make saints in a minute ; 
Are in danger of marring more hearts than they mend. 

If you wish to be happy, ne'er seek for the faults; 
Or you're sure to find something or other amiss ; 
'Mid much that debases, and much that exalts, 
The world's not a bad one, if left as it is. 

A writer who collected material for a history of the 
origin and development of Puritanism, says in the pre- 
face of his book : 

"I encounter at every turn traces of institutions and 
ideas generally supposed to have been derived from Eng- 
land, or at least to be of New England origin, but which 
clearly were derived from a different quarter. 

Here were free schools ; the system of recording 
deeds ; lands held in common by the towns ; all under the 
old Dutch rule ; here the doctrine was first laid down for 
a legislative assembly that the people are the source of 
political authority ; here was first established permanent 
religious freedom, the right of petition and the freedom 
of the press. 

On the other hand there were no executions of witches 
or Quakers, and no kidnapping and enslavement of the 
Indians. 

1 



86 

From the earliest schooldays Americans have been 
told that this nation is a transplanted England, and that 
we must look to the motherland as the home of our 
institutions ; but we find here the institutions which give 
America its distinctive character and no trace of them 
can be found in England. 

The Englishmen thousands in number who found a 
temporary home in Holland, went from a land where 
material and intellectual progress had been much re- 
tarded, to one which in almost every department of hu- 
man endeavor was then the instructor of the world. 

American history has been written almost exclusively 
by Englishmen or their descendants living in New Eng- 
land. Now, the English have never been wanting in 
that appreciation of themselves which has cliaracterized 
all the master races of the world. 

A Venetian traveller in 1500 wrote: 

"The English are great lovers of themselves and of 
everything belonging to them ; they think that there ar<? 
no other men than themselves and no other world but 
England." 

Most American authors and all English that have writ- 
ten of America, set out with the theory that the people 
of the United States are an English race, and that their 
institutions where not original, are derived from Eng- 
land. But when men use their own eyes, popular delu- 
sions often vanish before a breath, idols of centuries 
are shattered, the people see and think for themselves. 

The Hollander placed the spelling book and the reader 
in the hands of every child at a time when the mass of 
the English nation was wholly illiterate. The first free 
schools in America open to all and supported by the gov- 
ernment, were established by the Dutch settlers of New 
York. 



87 

Father William Penn borrowed from his mother's land 
many ideas for drafting into the laws of Pennyslvania, 
and he wrote in 1686: 

"Holland, that bog of the world, neither sea nor dry 
land, now the rival of the tallest monarchs, not by con- 
quest, marriage or accession of royal blood, the usual 
way to empire ; but by her own superlative clemency and 
industrv." 



CHAPTER XX. 
LAND TITLES. 

Among the early German tribes land was held in com- 
mon. A certain number of families gathered together 
and formed a community. The land belonged to the 
people, and was divided up according to the need and 
numbers. The fields and pastures were outside of the 
town. 

This was precisely the situation in Bergen at its set- 
tlement around Bergen Square, with its "outside gar- 
dens." 

Sometimes the farmer dwelt in his own farmhouse 
on his own farm in Holland, just as Michael Jansen and 
his neighbors did in Communipaw. 

When the country was conquered in 800, all the land 
except Frisia, belonged to the conquerors with power to 
divide up the country and vest the ownership of the 
soil in many lords and masters, and here is where the 
the title "landlord" came in. 

The lord divided up his lands, and sublet it to smaller 
lords or gentlemen. These again sublet it to farmers to 
work it with their serfs. 

The rental was loyalty, not money. The noble fol- 
lowed his master, the land holder furnishing the horses, 
provisions and servants. 

Little feudal states were Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, 
Overyssel, Drenthe, Groningen and Friesland. 

The feudalism meant possession of the land ; air and 
water, beasts, birds, fishes and minerals all belonged to 
the lords. Castles and monasteries grew to be fort- 
resses, while townsmen and country folk lived under 
wood and straw. Wars between rival lords were fre- 
quent ; in the castles heraldry grew up ; crests, ban- 



90 

ners, coats of arms and other graphic symbols were 
plentiful. In medallic history the Dutch excel all other 
people, and every family of consequence had its own 
symbol. The West India Company proprietors undoubt- 
edly had the feudal "trust" germ thoroughly imbedded 
in their individual systems, for they provided early in the 
existence of the country, laws, rules and regulations 
that permitted of no interference by individual enter- 
prise (note Jansen's fur trading) ; yet it must be said 
that their laws were liberal for those who could set 
about to establish new settlements ; for, while the com- 
pany proposed to regulate the land under their self- 
imposed control, it was always willing to permit new 
enterprises to be started which would be likely to make 
for business. 

Business was the watchword in New Amsterdam then 
in just the same spirit as it is to-day in New York, 
Jersey City and other places. 

With increase of business looked for the general im- 
provement of the province was sought after. The Com- 
pany reserved to itself the island of Manhattan, which 
they designated as the ''emporium of their trade," but 
it offered to private persons disposed to settle themselves 
in any other part of New Netherland, the absolute 
property in as much land as they might be able "prop- 
erly to improve." 

Any member of the Company who should within four 
years of the date (1629), plant a colony of fifty adults 
in any part of New Netherland, except the Island of 
Manhattan, should be acknowledged as a "Patroon" or 
feudal chief of the territory thus colonized. 

Each colony might have lands sixteen miles in extent 
on one side of a navigable river. Each patroon was 
promised a full title on condition that he satisfied the 
Indians for the land taken. 



91 

The members of the Company were not slow to avail 
themselves of the privileges offered. Killian Van Rens- 
selaer, among others, seized upon the regions adjacent 
to Fort Orange, now Albany. The contract between him 
and the head of the Vreeland family is mentioned at 
the beginning of our Genealogical chapter. Michael 
Pauw, who by the way is believed to be a close relation 
of the Vreeland family, according to ancient Dutch rec- 
ords, selected lands at Pavonia, as shown in a previous 
chapter. 

The first conveyance by deed of any land in New 
Jersey starts as follows : 

We, Director General and Council of New Netherland, 
residing on the Island of Manhattan and the Fort Am- 
sterdam, under the authority of Their High Mightinesses 
the Lords States General of the United Netherlands and 
the Incorporated West India Company, at their Cham- 
bers in Amsterdam, do hereby witness and declare that 
on this day, the date hereof underwritten, before us in 
their proper persons, appeared and showed themselves 
to wit : Arommeauw, Tekwappo, and Sackwomeck, in- 
habitants and joint owners of the land called Hobocan 
Hackingh, lying over and against the Island of Man- 
hattan, * * * for, and in consideration of a certain 
quantity of merchandise, * * * have sold and made 
over to Michael Pauw the aforesaid lands, * * * 

This deed was dated July 12, 1630. On November 22, 
1630, another deed was made by the Company, and 
Kikitoauw, Aiarouw, Aresick, Mingh, Wathkath and 
Cauwins, to the "Noble Lord, Michael Pauw * * * 

These deeds covered all the lands now in Bergen 
and Hudson counties, westerly to the Passaic river. 
Pauw also purchased Staten Island in August, 1630, but 
he did not comply with all the conditions by establishing 
a colony of fifty persons within the four years, and was 



92 

compelled to transfer Pavonia back to the Company. 
But he received 26,000 florins, which was pretty good 
interest on his investment. He left the impress of his 
presence by the record of being the first resident and the 
adoption of Paulus Hook later as the title of the set- 
tlement. Then came Jan Evertson Bout to Communi- 
paw in 1645, the first white settler in that section, and 
the "grote man" of the place, and Michael Jansen the 
next year. 

Governor Wouter Van Twiller and Domine Bogar- 
dus, husband of Anneke Jans, were frequent visitors. 

When Peter Stuyvesant was commissioned Director 
General of New Netherland in 1646, he found upon his 
arrival the next year considerable dissatisfaction among 
the Indians, and he formed a council of nine advisers, 
one of whom was Michael Jansen. The latter 's famil- 
iarity and friendship with the red skins brought fruit 
in subsequent negotiations which ended in a reaffirma- 
tion of the treaty of peace, but the troubles were by no 
means over. The massacre in 1655 has been noted when 
Jansen and his family alone escaped capture or death. 

January 30, 1658, a deed was executed by Therinques, 
Seghkow, Kokennick, Wawapehack, Bomokan, Wewe- 
natowkee, Wemirvokan and Sames for all that part of 
Hudson county east of the Hackensack and Newark 
bay. The consideration was eighty fathoms of wampum, 
twenty fathom of cloth, twelve kettles, six guns, two 
blankets, one double kettle and one half barrel of strong 
beer. 

The witnesses to this deed were Peter Stuyvesant and 
his council of nine, including Michael Jansen. 

In 1658 Jansen, having expressed his desire to return 
to Communipaw which permission was granted by the 
Director General, and with a few others, once more 
settled down for the balance of his life. His particular 



93 

place in the future history of the place is recited else- 
where. 

TWO HOLLANDERS' TRIP TO NEW JERSEY. 

In 1679 two Frisians, Danker and Sluyter, were sent 
over here by their church authorities on a tour of ob- 
servation, with a view of founding a new settlement. 

These men paid 75 guilders fare, and were over three 
months making the trip across. In the course of their 
investigations they examined Long Island, and on Oc- 
tober 26, 1679, came over to Ghomoen a pen (Com- 
niunipaw), where they "made the acquaintance of a 
person from Zeeland," who was a boatman, and he 
recommended them to call upon "a good woman" named 
Fitje Hartman (Mother Vreeland). 

"We found her a proper person and a little pious. 
We dined there and spoke with her ; we continued our 
journey along a fine broad wagon road, to the other vil- 
lage called Bergen, a good half an hour's trip, where 
the villagers, mostly all Dutch, received us well." 

Later, they made preparations for a trip to "Ackque- 
quenon." They left Gouanes at high water, rowed to 
Gheele Hook (Constable Hook), where they made 
sail and crossed to "Achter Kil" (back bay), now New- 
ark Bay. Here they found an Indian named Hans, who 
could talk Dutch, and after a long argument agreed to 
give him a blanket for his services as guide. 

"We left Schutlers Island, but owing to a calm had to 
strike the sails and row. We reached the Slaughen- 
bergh (Droyers Point), the west point of the Noord 
West Kil (Passaic river), where the tide ran so strong 
we could proceed no further, .\fter sundown a light 
breeze sprang up, and we raised sail. We came to Mil- 
fort (Newark), an English village lying on high land 
on the south side of the creek, having left Sanfort on 



94 

the right hand, which is an Enghsh village on the west 
side of the Hackingsack Kil. We rowed against tide to 
Captain Berry's, but found only a negro there who 
could talk only broken French. We slept on the floor. 
Next day we arrived at Ackquequenon at one o'clock, 
where we fotnid a fine tract of land of about 12,000 
morgen, which had been purchased from the Indians 
for 150 guilders equivalent. (This was the land pur- 
chased by Hartman Michelson (Weeland). It was a 
fine piece of land, not very abundant in wood, however. 
On one side is the Northwest Kill, navigable for large 
boats or yachts. On the other is a small creek (Third 
river), used to drive several mills. W^e slept in an Indian 
hut. 

The next day we found the falls at the foot of which 
is a basin so full of fish that one could catch fish with 
one's hands. 

The voyagers started back at eight o'clock in the morn- 
ing, and reached Achter Kil the same evening. 



PART THIRD. 

The Story of the Vreelands. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

AN OLD VREELAND FAMILY. 

If there still be some doubting Thomases and Sary 
Janes who are confirmed in the opinion that Vreeland as 
a family name was manufactured for American consump- 
tion only it might be apropos for us to append the result 
of a prolonged search of records on the other side of the 
hemisphere, made especially for us by Hon. F. H. DeVos, 
one of the most learned archivists in the world perhaps. 

He was the moving spirit in the founding of the Hol- 
land Society of Ceylon, India, and is a prolific writer of 
books relating to the history of the Dutch people in the 
East Indies. 

We have already told of a Johann \'reeland living in 
Aliddleburg, on the Island of Walcheren, in 1585, and 
now we present brief transcripts of the doings of some 
other people bearing the ancient name. 

In 1695 Adrianna Vreeland was a sponsor at the bap- 
tism of Johannes Cysbertus van Vianem at Kouderkerk, 
a town of Walcheren, Zeeland. The famous Dutch East 
India Company seemed to have made early appreciation 
of the quality of the Vreelands, for we find a Gerrit Vree- 
land serving as their cashier in 1662 in Batavia, and in 
1673 1^6 is recorded as a captain commanding '"de Com- 
pagnies Suppoorter." 

In 1702 Gerrardus Vreeland of Batavia was enrolled 
as a student in Utrecht under the rectorship of Hendrik 
Pontano. 

August 2, 1725, Isaac Tisseneau, of Amsterdam, mar- 
ried Johanna Vreeland van Batavia, and on August 26. 
1797, Hendrik de Groot, of Amsterdam, captain-lieuten- 



lOO 

ant "by het Corps Artillerie," married Elizabeth van 
Vreeland of Batavia. 

Sir Gerrard Johann Vreeland was born in Utrecht, 
September 24, 171 1, and was baptized in the Dom-kerk, 
on November 27th, his sponsors being Cornells \'ermeer 
and Mevrouw Vermeer. He was the son of Gerrard 
Vreeland and Petronella van Romolt, who lived on the 
Muntstraat (Mint street), and his grandparents were 
Gerrit and Aletta Vreeland, of Middleburg, Walcheron, 
Zeeland. 

In 1736 he went to Ceylon in the employ of the Dutch 
East India Company in the ship "Knafifendof," and was 
appointed their commissary, having charge of the dis- 
pensing of the company's stores in Columbo; he also at- 
tended to the legal matters of the department of revenue, 
and in 1747 was appointed commander (Mayor) of the 
town of Galle, in Ceylon. In 1751 he was appointed 
Governor of the Island of Ceylon. On November 16, 
1738, he married Susanna Petronella Visboom ; died 
February 26, 1752, and was buried in the WohVendalJil 
Church, Columbo. 

The inscription on his tombstone reads as follows: 
"Hier rust het lyk van den we(^ Edele Groot agboare 
Gerrard Johann Vreeland, Raad Extraordinaer van Ned- 
erland-India, Gouverneur en Directeur van het ,Eylant 
Ceylon, auste Madure, en de everdere onderkoophfeden." 
The translation is : "Here lies the body of the Very Hon- 
orable and Most Distinguished Sir Garret John Vreeland, 
Councillor Extraordinary of the Dutch Indies, Governor 
and Director of the Island of Ceylon, the coast of Madure 
and the further dependencies." 

His arms were : D- a trois arbres terrasses ranzes et 
fasce. Crest 'arbee. On a stone in a garden in Matara 
was found an inscription : "Opgebouwt door den Opper 
Dissave 'G. I. V.' Ao 1747." This stone has been placed 



lor 

in Nupe Church, Matara, and another stone placed next 
to it, with this inscription: "Hume Lapidem Quondam 
Vreelandtii Sarapis Aedium jampridem obrutarum_ 
partem us flumen inventum hie posuit J P L, 1900." The 
gateway of the garden next to this has a stone with the 
name "Vreede" (Peace) cut on it. 

Governor Vreeland's grandmother in 1683 married a 
second time Isaac von Schwinne, son of Vice-Admiral 
von Schwinne, of the Dutch navy, also ambassador to 
the Dutch settlements in Japan. 

A daughter by this marriage married Johannes Tini- 
mers, secretary of Rotterdam, and a grand-daughter mar- 
ried Paulus Boogaart Burgomaster, of Rotterdam, in 
1732. The relationship of this Vreeland family to our 
own is discussed in the chapter on "Nomenclature." 

Here are Vreelands fifty years before Michael Jansen 
came to America, and Vreelands twenty-five years after 
in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. Fifty years later more 
Vreelands are on record as residents of Zeeland, close 
by the old "home town," while two Amsterdam beaux 
captured a pair of Batavia belles of the Vreeland name in 
1725 and 1797. We know of Vreelands in Holland to- 
day occupying important positions. 

A 325 year record ought to satisfy the most ambitious 
pedigree hunter, and assuage the anxiety of the most 
enthusiastic of the antiquity of the family name. 




Views of '\''reeland, Holland. 



CHAPTER XXIL 

THE TOWN VREELAND. 

The erstwhile city of Vreeland, now dwindled by the 
force of the usual Netherlandish circumstances to the 
proportions of a country village of less than a thousand 
inhabitants, lies on the banks of the river Vecht, twenty 
minutes by rail southerly from Amsterdam, and half an 
hour north of Utrecht. An old traveler describes it as 
one of the most beautiful of the A'echt villasfes. 




It is located on a hill, surrounded by marsh lands, like 
all the elevated portions of Holland. It was this partic- 
ular and favorable location that led to its selection as a 
fortified guardian of the surrounding country, nearly 
seven hundred years ago. 

We are indebted to Mr. L. A. B. Vroom, of the Neth- 
erlands State Railway, and his brother, Mr. L. J. J. 
Vroom, of Zwolle, Holland, for a copy of an address 
delivered by J. A. F. Backer, Burgomaster of Vreeland, 
before the Town Council. The address was printed for 
private circulation, and is now out of print, and it was 



I ©4 

only through the kindness of Mr. L. Smit, the town 
schoolmaster, that enabled Mr. Vroom to secure a copy. 
Next, we are indebted to Mr. Marinus Houman, a noted 
architect of Paterson, N. J., for a translation of the 
salient features of the book. 

We give only the early history prior to the emigration 
to this country of our ancestors, and even that is not in 
the speaker's exact words. We have already mentioned 
in our "Story of Holland" how the country was turned 
over to Dirk, Count of Holland, in 922, and in this con- 
nection we stated that "here, too, was the genesis of the 
Vreeland family." That we were correct in this deduc- 
tion is proven here, where we find that history tells us 
that in the year 953, King Otto I. gave to St. Martin's 
Church "this dominion along the river Vecht, this Vrede- 
lant built by the Bishop van Viandem to insure the peace 
of St. Martin, but the object sought for was not attained, 
for peace came not either to borough or to the adjoining 
territory of St. Martin's. 

From the language of the grant of King Otto, it is 
evident that Vredelant must have existed as an entity 
prior to 953. 

The place had to be continually "re-established," or 
rebuilt, because of the results of the pending wars, which 
destroyed the village and injured the church. It was 
constantly the prey of riot, unrest and servitude, per- 
sistently threatened with war and rapine. One of the 
old historians christened the place "Unrestburg." 

The founding of the borough attracted the attention 
of a number of residents and the place was soon a town. 
In 1252 began the building of the Castle Vredelant, and 
it was completed in 1259. On the tombstone of Henri- 
cus of Vienna, the founder, the following inscription, 
chosen by himself, was made : 



I05 

"Struxi, Alartiiie, Vredelant pro pace tuorum. 
Pace beatorum fruar ut tecum sine fine," 

which translated is : 

"1 have, Oh St. Martin's, built Vredelant for our pro- 
tection. 
That I may forever enjoy with you the peace of the 
blessed." 
In 1268 Vredelant was besieged by the Lord of Amstel, 
but to no effect until later, but he at last acquired such 
a hold that Bishop John had to pawn the city to him, and 
twelve years later applied to him for armed assistance, 
which was given, and in memory of this event one of the 
old poets worked off the following: 

"Zoodat hi bat den Edelen Grave, 
Dat hi hiertoe hulpe gave ; 
Diet 00k dede ende trak te hant, 
Met heer krachte veer Vredelant." 
A free translation is : 

So he prayed the Noble Count, 
That he now assistance give ; 
The response was quick and prompt, 
All for Vredelant to live. 

In 1298 Bishop William of Utrecht in consideration of 
the founding of Vredelant by his predecessor Henry, con- 
firmed the rights and privileges on the same conditions 
as those held by the city of Deventer, except that the 
magisterial rights remained with the steward. 

In 1327 Bishop John of Nassau pawned the revenues 
of Vredelant to Count William of Holland, and in the 
bond it was stipulated that "whoever the Count shall 
appoint shall preside over the municipalities belonging 
to our house of Vredelant, Nichtevecht, Brokelede and 
Marchen. and render a daily account of the revenues. 



io6 

The steward was the person who exercised the most 
power. He was obHged to only render a good account 
to the Bishop, to provide that the House Vredelant 
brought in a good revenue for his master, and for the 
rest he had a free hand. It was toll for this and toll for 
that, graft, graft everywhere, a regular Tammany Hall. 

In 1333 the resident Bishop Johannes offered forty 
days' indulgence to all those who would bring gifts for 
the rebuilding of the St. Nicholas Church at Vredelant, 
which had been destroyed in the fierce wars. 

In 1363 Vredelant was confirmed as a city by Bishop 
John of Utrecht, at which time he also confirmed "the 
increased and improved freedom granted by his fore- 
fathers. He specified "that all citizens that now reside 
or may hereafter reside there shall have the rights of 
citizenship, the same as their forefathers, that they shall 
in future be quit or free of all yearly tithes, may sail toll 
free through all his lands, and be bound to pay no trib- 
ute, nor shall they be cited to appear before any magis- 
trate beyond the limits of the city, and have toll free upon 
all roads leading to the municipality. All those, no mat- 
ter where born, who shall seek refuge for whatever cause, 
who for six weeks shall have resided peacefully and be 
of good character, except thieves and murderers, or 
those who because of evil character were banished from 
our lands, these shall not receive protection. So shall 
the city Vredelant be liberated and remain free forever, 
the same as other cities of our land. Further, no one 
shall be admitted to citizenship except with our consent 
or our successors. And if the citizen be accused they 
may proclaim their innocence with their own hands, the 
same as us, and all well-born subjects of the Bishopric." 

A change had evidently come over the spirit of Uncle 
John's dreams, or times financial had improved so that 
it was no longer necessary to bleed the people so heavily. 



107 

These franchises, rights and privileges were further 
confirmed by Frederick van Blankenheim, Bishop of 
Utrecht in 1395, and reconfirmed in 1437 by his suc- 
cessor, David of Burgundy. Added endorsement was 
given in 1457, and Phihp of Burgundy added his en- 
dorsement in 1 5 18. 

But the troubles were by no means over, for they 
seemed to have become so acute that in 1524 Bishop 
Hendric von Bijeren reinforced the borough to guard it 
against Utrecht itself, and the people of St. Martin's, in 
whose interest the castle was built for protection. 

By 1600 the town was so impoverished because of pre- 
vious wars that it was compelled to issue a patent for the 
levying of duty and toll to provide for its needs, a some- 
what similar process to the one that our American Con- 
gress is now engaged in. 

In the beginning evidently Vredelant was not well 
served, says the speaker, and evidently he was correct 
in his conclusions. Is it any wonder that the Vreelands 
about this time took up bag and baggage, and traveled 
north, and traveled south in search of places of more 
perfect peace and of more apparent opportunities for 
advancement. Upon the banners which were carried in 
the vanguard of battle the likeness of St. Martin was em- 
blazoned, and upon Vreeland's escutcheon or seal the 
same figure appears, emblematic of charity and mercy. 
The white cross on the red shield was the symbol of vic- 
tory, because "Triumphantly she emerged out of the strife 
against rude violence and tyranny and constraint of 
former centuries." 

Loenen, which is the railway station for Vreeland, and 
is located upon the opposite side of the River Vecht, 
claimed for a long time to be the oldest village in the 
province. It even went to one of the oldest sources 
available, Luna, the moon, for its name, thereby becom- 



io8 

ing the forerunner of the chain of Luna Parks now so 
prevalent here. But its claim of antiquity is not sub- 
stantiated any better than some of the vaunted glories of 
its successors in this country. 

Claes Bruyn, one of the old Dutch poets, once wrote 
of Vreeland : 

"Verruk'lijk Vreeland, leer mij denken 
Aaan't Vreedeland van hooger Staat." 

which in our language says : 

Delightful Vreeland^ teach me to think 

C)i the Vredelant ( Peace-land) of a higher state." 

The Castle of Vredelant was by order of Emperor 
Charles V. demolished, and the material of the outer 
walls sent to Utrecht, where they were rebuilt in the 
walls of the Castle Vredenburg. Building stones in those 
days were an unknown natural quantity in Holland, and 
had to be procured from other countries. Hence it was 
apparent that the thrifty though unscrupulous Charles 
was looking upon the economical side when he wanted a 
new castle. His further thrift grafting propensities were 
shown by the enforced contributions by the Netherlanders 
of eight millions of ducats in five years. But his hopes 
of conquering the country and breaking the spirit of the 
brave residents were effectually blasted as history in- 
forms us. 

As modern times brought forth modern ideas, the 
name of the city was modernized to the present title, but 
some of the ancient customs prevail to this day. 

The official seal of the city, as shown at the beginning 
of this chapter, tells the story of the admixture of religion 
and chivalry, of its church steeple and fortified castle in 
close conjunction. The knight in armor, seen under the 
archway, is Saint Martin dividing with his sword his 
cloak, part of which he gave over to the crippled beggar 



I09 

for protection, while over all is the coat of arms of the 
Bishop of Utrecht, a red shield upon which a triple lined 
cross of white is imposed, dividing it into four squares. 
A fine reproduction of this seal can be found in a Latin 
book entitled "Canonicus Ultrajectimus," printed in 1643. 

By the way, the above title is a pretty good specimen 
of the twisting of the name "Utrecht." The transposi- 
tion of Vredelant is simplicity simplified in comparison. 
Besides "Vrede" and "Vree" mean precisely the same 
thing (Peace), and so does "Lant" and "Land," and yet 
the big Latin name is not inappropriate. "Ultra Trajec- 
tum" means "Distant Crossing" or "ford," and this was 
condensed into "Utrecht." In our Passaic County the 
name Little Falls and Great Falls, the latter afterward 
caled Passaic Falls, where the waters of the Passaic 
burst their rocky barriers, was given for similar reasons. 

Utrecht is the oldest town in Holland history, has been 
and is the largest in civilization and influence, and Vree- 
land in point of age is but little if any behind it. 

Access to Vreeland from Amsterdam and Utrecht can 
be had by water, in either motor or canal boats, at very 
reasonable fares. To the average traveler who is really 
seeing things, this is decidedly the best way to travel 
through the entire country. 



CHAPTER XXIIL 

THE NAME VREELAND. 

Of all the patronymics for which the present posses- 
sors (descendants of the old Dutch settlers in this coun- 
try), claim antiquity, the name "\'reeland," as Angli- 
cized, stands pre-eminent as far as age and family posses- 
sion is concerned. 

\^redelant (the Dutch version), goes back in the his- 
tory of Holland, into the tenth century, and history rec- 
ords its prominence in the 13th century as the title of 
one of the cities of Holland. 

The name of the ])lace, A'redelant (Land of Peace), 
was a sad misnomer in its early days, as conditions were 
very far removed from a peaceful state, and it was until 
after the accjuirement of the independence of the United 
States of the Netherlands, and the extinction of the Papal 
influence, that the significance of the title was borne out 
by the condition of affairs in the city. 

The family name "\'redema,"' was a common one in 
Friesland as far back as 1588, and Vreelands abound in 
that province to-day. 

Primarily, almost every Hollander was a "Vredema" 
(Man of Peace) by inclination, if not by profession, and 
with fighting to right, left, front and rear of him, it is 
not surprising to find almost in the geographical center 
of the country, a ])lace where at least it was hoped that 
the "X'^redema" might "Requiescat in Pace," but the hope 
was vain, and the A^reelands sought pastures new, in 
search of real peace and prosperity. 

The location of the once prominent city of Vredelant 
was too far inland to have it become commercially prom- 
inent, and as the seaport towns developed, many of the 
people of A'redelant were compelled to seek their for- 
tunes in i^astures new. 



I 



Ill 

Some "trekked" north to Friesland and the North 
Holland of to-day, others journeyed in the opposite 
direction, and helped people South Holland and Zee- 
land. In these opposite geographical extremes of Ne- 
therland the families exist to-day in large numbers, and 
without exception, the surname is the same, V-R-E-E- 
L-A-N-D, with no qualification as to initial or final. The 
town Vreeland has changed the final letters in accord- 
ance with modern orthography. Land for Lant, and 
dropped the superfluous "d" in the first syllable. The 
meaning of the word is now, as it was nearly a thousand 
years ago, "Peace-Land," and a really truly peace land it 
is. 

Bordering on the picturesque River Vecht, it is a re- 
gion where peace and comfort reigns, undisturbed by the 
bustle and rustle of the average business city ; it is em- 
phatically a "home town." The tourist trying to do 
Holland and Belgium in three weeks and then write a 
book about it, fails to disturb the serenity of the place, 
even by a flying visit. 

And those others who try to absorb the historical at- 
mosphere in a shorter period, with a view of dishing it 
up later for family consumption, are indeed to be pitied. 

Boats and rail connect the town with Amsterdam to 
the north, and Utrecht in the opposite direction ; a com- 
fortable inn is here for the enterainment of such mem- 
bers of the Vreeland family, as occasionally come back 
to the "home town;" but, peacefully old Vreeland lies, 
and its inhabitants pursue their daily tasks undisturbed 
and without excitement. 

It is a typical Dutch village of the twentieth century, 
with just enough of the antique trimmings to make it in- 
teresting. 

History tells us that the "free" Frisians, one of the 
most ancient of the world's tribes, whose very name is 



I 12 



synonymous with Liberty and who were the nearest blood 
relatives to the Anglo-Saxon race, occupied almost the 
entire country, known later as Holland, before the days 
of Csesar. The main occupation of the people, when 
they were not fighting against foreign invaders, being 
the raising of cattle, a profession that is to-day in the 
domain of their forefathers a prominent feature. 

Charlemagne, when he obtained possession by "right 
of might" in 785, recognized the spirit of the people and 
said that the Frisians should be "free as long as the 
wind blows out of the clouds, and the world stands." 
Their laws were not interfered with, and they Stand 
to-day, Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Overyssel, Groningen, 
Drenthe, all portions of Friesland in a general sense, 
afterward constituted the "United States of the Nether- 
lands," one of the most powerful republics of history. 

The Counts of Holland and the Bishop of Utrecht 
exercised divided sway over the territory. 

To Zeeland is credited the first municipal corporation, 
or installation of law in place of arbitrary violence. Upon 
this example the great cities were modeled. These char- 
ters did not establish the right of the people to govern 
themselves, as much as to be governed by law. They 
encouraged peace makers and punished peace breakers. 
South Beveland where the Vreelands, as we know 
them, came from, and Walcheren, where they first set- 
tled after leaving the town of \>eeland, are now islands. 
The river Scheld opens wide its two arms in almost op- 
posite directions, before it joins the sea, and between 
these arms, lie the islands of North Beveland, South 
Beveland and Walcheren. 

The city of Ter-Goes was and is still the chief city of 
South Beveland, and is located less than an hour's walk 
from s'Heer Abtskerke, from whence Michael Jansen 
Vreeland, imbued with the spirit of emigration and 



113 

visions of fortune beyond the seas, started with his wife 
and baby boy Nicholas, for Amsterdam, there to sail in 
the "Arms of Norway," for Manhattan and Albany, as 
told in detail elsewhere. 

To the south of Scrabbekerk are the Vreeland Polders, 
known as such in the year 1909 as they were in the 
year 1638 and nearly or quite a century before. 

The fertility of Zeeland is remarkable. Every acre is 
well cultivated with buckwheat, barley, tobacco and other 
crops. The arms of Zeeland are a lion half out of the 
water with the motto "Luctor et Emerge," expressing 
the spirit of resolution embraced in the Zeeland 
peasant's interpretation. "Luk 't van daag niet danult 't 
mergen." "If it does not succeed to-day,, it will to-mor- 
row," or the American school boy's favorite recital, "If 
at first you don't succeed, try, try again." The coat of 
arms can be seen on the coin illustrations. Chapter 
XXXV. 

This spirit of resolution is evident as soon as one sets 
foot on the island. Here is shown the stern fact of a 
country snatched and held from the sea and converted 
into one of the fairest provinces in the world. 

The city of Goes was once an important maritime 
town ; and the land surrounding it was reclaimed, and 
here on Wilhelmina's Polder, as it is called now, cluster 
hamlets, villages and farms. 

South Beveland was not always an island. In 1532 
a tempest had overthrown all barriers and burst the 
dykes, and the ocean flowed over Zeeland, overwhelming 
hundreds of villages and tearing a tract of country loose 
from the mainland, the recession of the waters leaving 
the island, and the balance was buried forever beneath 
the sea. 

Bergen-op Zoom (the Hill on the Border), or Bergen 
on the Shore, the town from which the old town and 



114 

county of Bergen in New Jersey took their names, and 
the town in New York, Hes in close contiguity to Zee- 
land (about the same as Greenville does to Bay Ridge), 
on the boundary of the Province of Brabant. In its day 
this Bergen was a prominent sea-port town, the key to 
South Beveland, and from here a fleet of two hundred 
and fifty vessels sailed forth, manned by over two 
thousand "Beggars of the Sea," to engage the fleet of 
Spain, and win the right to fly a new broom frcm every 
masthead of the fleet. 

There has been a difference among our historians, real 
and alleged, as to the origin of the name of our local 
Bergen ; but, when it is ciphered out intelligently that 
three-fourths of the early settlers of the place came from 
Ih'abant and Zeeland ; that Bergen-op-Zoom was their 
natural sailing point, and in reality the last place in their 
native land that their feet trod the land, is it not natural 
to suppose and believe that when the voyagers, shortly 
after landing here, observed the place on the "Mill," a 
natural duplicate in great part of the place their thoughts 
dwelt upon, the name "Bergen" would be the title to be 
perpetuated in their new place of abode, especially when 
to this could be added the orthographical authority ; tor 
"Bergen" means "Hill." When some one talks of Ber- 
gen Hill, he says "Hill Hill," which is ridiculous to say 
the least. 

Once again, returning to our argument, the South 
Bevelanders had always looked upon Bergen-op-Zoom 
with its powerful fortifications, as their natural guar- 
dian against invaders, and Bergen, New Jersey, with its 
fortified stockades, was a pretty good imitation. 

The Norwegian element among the early comers were 
a negligible quality, hence the attempts to identify the 
name of their country's capital with that of the new 
settlement seems ridiculous, as the emigrants from the 



115 

"Land of the Midnight Sun" had no such pleasant 
thoughts of the place they had "left behind them," as 
did the Dutchmen. Friesland was a republic, except in 
name. Holland, Zeeland and Brabant had acquired a 
large share of self-government. Love of freedom, readi- 
ness to strike and bleed at any moment in her cause, 
were leading characteristics of the race in all periods, 
whether among Frisian swamps, Dutch dykes, on Com- 
munipaw's shores, or pathless forests of America. 

Is it any wonder that the Vreelands, the Van Wagen- 
ens and Brinkerhoffs of Zeeland ; the Van Winkles and 
Van Ripers of Friesland ; the \'an Horns and New- 
kirks of Brabant, should have the love of country as a 
part of their natural inheritance. 

And again, Bergen-op-Zoom was one of the most im- 
portant points in the great wars. In 1588, 20,000 men 
under the Duke of Parma, laid siege to it, but after two 
months he had to give up the job in disgust. 

The gustatory feature, likewise, may have had its in- 
fluence in comparing our Bergen with its Holland name- 
sake, when the great oyster beds off Communipaw were 
discovered, for the oysters of Bergen-op-Zoom were the 
Saddle Rocks of the country. 

But, in reading a chapter on the family name Vree- 
land, the incjuiring reader may be tempted to ask: If 
\ reeland, why Jansen ? or Janzoon, which last syllable 
is the real Dutch for son. 

While that question is answered in a general way in 
our chapter on "Nomenclature,"" we might say that 
"Oom Michael" came to this country at about the middle 
of the transition period of patronymics, and that un- 
doubtedly he was the son of Jan, or Johan Vreeland, 

Note the changes on this side: First generation. Jan- 
sen ; second generation, Michelson ; third generation, 
Vreeland. The Janzoons, once Vreelands from A^rede- 



ii6 

lant, came back to first principles, and took up the name 
where their forefathers dropped it, for reasons beyond 
our ken ; but evidently fashion ruled in those days as it 
does now. 

The democratic farmer Vreelands followed the fash- 
ion of the rurals in borrowing the father's christian 
name; the aristocratic portion of the family, like the 
Governor Vreeland branch, kept the original name in- 
tact. 

It might be added that the family name on the female 
side never changed from Hartman. 

See our chapter on "Mother Vreeland" for argument 
on this distinguished family. 




Franklin \'reeland (374). 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

VREELAND VS. FREELAND. 

It seems almost a waste of time and breath to stop to 
argue the substitution of an "F" for a "V" in writing 
the last name. 

We have shown how certain branches of the family, 
moving from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, the province 
founded by the half blood Dutchman, William Penn, 
took it upon themselves to make the change, although 
they were born and bred Vreelands. 

Their claim is that the name was taken from Friesland, 
but the Vreelands who live in Friesland to-day and have 
resided there yesterday and many days before, without 
exception spell and write their names with a "V." 
Others say, that coming to a free land warranted the 
use of the sixth letter of the alphabet instead of the 
tw^enty-second ; but, when it is shown as we have done, 
that the Frisians were always "free," that at the begin- 
ning of emigration the free Republic of the United 
States of the Netherlands was a fact, and that, while 
America was "the home of the brave," it was by no 
means "the land of the free," until some hundred and 
sixty-nine years had rolled around, this deduction as- 
suredly destroys the power of this sort of argument. 

"In re" talk of coming to a free land accounting for 
the surname of the family, we might cite the fact that 
one of the most magnetic reasons why so many people 
from Great Britain, France, Spain and Portugal, and 
Germany, came to live under the Dutch flag, was the 
very element of toleration. Nederland stood nearly alone 
in all Europe in oflrering religious freedom to all men, 
and this, too, is the cornerstone upon which the Consti- 
tution of the United States of America rests. 



I20 

In fact, the Pilgrims in 1620 left Holland because their 
religious ideas were less free than those of the Dutch 
people, and their dominion in New England bears evi- 
dence that freedom in religious thought at least was 
far removed. 

Xo better instance of this can be cited than the case of 
John Throgmorton and his friends, who were practically 
driven out of Salem, Mass., in 1643, by the intolerant ac- 
tions of the leaders there, and wandered toward New 
Amsterdam, halting at last at a beautiful spot on Long 
Island Sound, where the present town of Westchester is 
located. There were thirty-five families in all in the com- 
pany, and, after obtaining a deed from Governor William 
Kieft, they settled down, and, as their deed recited, "were 
to reside on their tract in peace, and were to be favored 
with free exercise of their religion." 

So delighted were they with their new home site that 
they named it "Vredeland," or "Land of Peace." 

Yet, even here, they were permitted to live peacefully 
only a few years. While the land all around their section 
had been deeded by the Indians to the Dutch West India 
Company, in 1640; in 1654 one Thomas Pell came along 
and laid claim to ownership under an English patent, in- 
sisting that the Dutch had no rights, but that only the 
English were in control. The Attorney General of New 
Netherland protested, claiming that the district called 
"Vredeland" was cultivated and inhabited by letters 
patent granted by the Director General and Council. But 
Pell hung on until the English came into possession of 
New York in 1664, and the early inhabitants were com- 
pelled to surrender their rights to him. 

And thus the town of Pelham was founded (?) by 
Thomas Pell, in the same lines as we hear of the Pilgrims 
discovering Cape Cod, and surrounding country, in 1620; 
while, as a matter of fact, the whole section was discovered 
by the Dutch eleven years previous, and named "New 
Holland." and all of the islands, bays and rivers were 



121 

given Dutch names, of which traces can be found to this 
day. One of the first changes that the Enghsh made was 
to call one of the streams "Fresh" River, significant truly 
of English plan and action. 

The Dutchmen, however, were too busily engaged in 
and around New Amsterdam to make use of their discov- 
ery, especially as their New York and New Jersey pos- 
sessions were much the more valuable, and at last by 
mutual agreement the English were given title to the 
colonies of Virginia and Massachusetts with a stretch of 
land one hundred miles long, in between, for Dutchmen 
only. The long headedness of the old Dutchmen has 
assuredly been proven by after results. 

The people of the home town in Utrecht never even 
dreamed of making a change in the front letter of the 
name of their place of abode. It has been Vredelant for 
a thousand years, and it is a little late in the day to 
attempt a change now. 

One old Father in Israel, who has exceeded the Bib- 
lical limit of three score years and ten by a decade and a 
half, and whose father imposed upon him the name 
Freeland by arbitrarily changing the first letter upon re- 
moval from New Jersey, told the writer that he was 
confident that the letter was misplaced, but that as he 
had borne it for 85 years, he guesed he would not 
change it now, and as all of his immediate descendants 
were of the female gender, the name would die with him. 

In Northampton county, Pennsylvania, a town has 
been named "Freeland." But even this is of no comfort 
to the advocates of the new spelling, when the following 
is read, from the local editor of the town's paper : "The 
town was formerly Freehold, but when they came to 
name the post-ofifice, it was found that there was another 
Freehold in the state, and the name Freeland was sub- 
stituted, because all deeds to lands here were given 
without any mineral reservations, something unknown 
of in the coal regions. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

VREELAND COAT OF ARMS. 

The insignia of the famliy, ferreted out after patient, 
diligent and prolonged search, discloses the true Dutch 
instinct and loyalty of our progenitors in the colors se- 
lected. 

"Oranje, Blanje, Bleu" were the official colors of Hol- 
land. Gold, silver and blue are the official colors of the 
A'reeland and of the Hartman families. 

Here are the Dutch colors glorified ; orange, or gold 
for loyalty ; silver, or white, for purity ; and blue for 
faith. Can any combination be imagined more fitting for 
a Dutch family? 

In the same way in which we failed to establish the 
exact starting point for the town Vreeland. have we 
been unable to discover the origination of the coat of 
arms. In an old history of Zeeland printed in 1696, a 
representation of the insignia is found among others, 
and a duplicate was found in the archives of Amster- 
dam; but it is in every way likely that the Vreelands of 
Vredelant had their own particular family sign, the same 
as other prominent families, as well as the town itself. 

There were knights in Vredelant city. There is a 
mighty good looking knight on top of the Vreeland fam- 
ily sign board. 

The cross of white on a field of red is on the city seal, 
but the human Vreelands have a monopoly of the gold, 
stars, with the stripes of silver and blue ; albeit, accord- 
ing to true heraldic laws, the Vreeland end can claim 
the six pointed star, while the Hartman or female part 
of the family, must be content with the five pointed 
cadences. 

Yet, even in this last feature we have another exem- 
plification of the bonds of union between Holland and 



123 

America, as the five pointed star was afterward made a 
part of the official emblem of the great United States, 
while the six pointed article is the Holland sign for 
knightly valor. 

Taking it by and large, the \ reelands have a coat of 
arms that means something and that is saying much, y 
The family motto (Volhart Altydtj Persevere AI-k 
wa}'s, is likewise pretty good Dutch talk. 

The question of the right to use a coat of arms at all 
has been raised : but if one examines the old tome men- 
tioned, he will find that the custom must have been al- 
most universal, as every family mentioned in the text is 
represented in the pictured pages by armorial seals. 

It was the fashion and the custom, and these features 
ruled in 1500 or 1600 as they do in 1909. It required 
the searching of a hundred Dutch books to find the pic- 
ture, and the added labor of examining Belgian, German, 
English and French authorities on heraldry, before the 
colors and markings were corroborated. 

As to the right to bear a coat of arms, there seems to 
be no question of this, so far at least as the Vreeland 
family is concerned. One of the oldest authorities on 
this point quaintly says : 

"Coats of arms were invented by our wise ancestors 
to these three ends : 

First — to honor and adorn the family of him that had 
well deserved. 

Second — To honor him more famous above the rest. 

Third — To dififer out the several lines and issues." 

To entitle you to use a coat of arms, you must show 
one of the above attributes, and surely the Vreelands 
were and are now in possession of their full share of 
these qualifications. 

The acknowledged authorities for the Holland coats 
of arms are \'an Osterman. Goethals, Riedstap and Van- 



124 

derhiiysen. When either of these vouch for the authen- 
ticity of an emblazonment, it is pretty safe for us to 
accept his decision, and that is precisely what I have 
done in "discovering" the really, truly Vreeland sign of 
honor. 

We have repeatedly made mention of the close relation 
between England and Holland, and have told how a 
goodly portion of the first named country was settled by 
the Dutchmen; how the self same country was compelled 
to come to Holland to find a king in the person of Will- 
iam HI. of Orange; how several of the counties and 
towns in England are known to-day by old Dutch names 
slightly Anglicised ; and now, while on the subject of 
armorial bearings, we want to cite the similar features 
existing in the arms of the English Wessingtons (Wash- 
ington), from which stock our immortal George was a 
somewhat conspicuous descendant, and those of the 
Dutch Vreelands. 

Each had three stars, but Washington had five stripes, 
while the Vreelands were contented with three. Wash- 
ington's colors vary only in one particular from Vree- 
lands, where the Dutch orange gives way to the English 
red. Who knows but that our first president had some 
good old Dutch blood in his make-up. We know for a 
certainty that he possessed several of the other qualifica- 
tions peculiar to the inhabitants of the Netherlands. 

Governor William Penn was half Dutch, and was 
never ashamed of it. One third or more of the Pilgrim 
fathers and mothers were Dutch, however much their 
descendants decry it at this day. 

Holland and England were and are less than two 
hours apart in point of travel time, and they are very 
close together in point of consanguinity. From the ear- 
liest history of the world, symbols, emblems and devices 



127 

have been used ; the tribes of Israel had their respective 
ensigns. 

Before the world had use of letters, these were used 
to convey ideas and express the meaning of things. 

Heraldry became a recognized science in the 13th cen- 
tury, and the devices adopted were endless in variety, 
"from the highest things celestial to the lowest things 
terrestrial." 

Nearly every mansion was decorated with armorial 
insignia, and the ancestry of the family was shown by 
the shields. 

"From my own windows, torn my household coat ; 
Raz'd out my impress, leaving me no sign ; 

Save men's opinions, and my living blood ; 
To show the world, I am a gentleman." 

— Shakespeare, Richard III., Act II., Scene I. 

The church favored armorial bearings, knights car- 
ried their banners to be blessed by the priest before go- 
ing to battle ; arms were originally badges and symbols 
of dignity, "and no man can arrogate a dignity to him- 
self," says an old writer. 

The colors which cover the shields are primarily blue, 
red, black, green, purple, orange, blood, silver and gold. 

The shield argent, or silver, is said to have represented 
humility ; "or" gold, wealth and generosity ; blue, char- 
ity ; red, courage ; black, grief and prudence ; green, 
youth ; and so on. 

A Vreeland motto, if based upon this analysis, would 
signify, "Humility, Charity and Generosity," not a bad 
combination surely, but one motto at a time is enough. 

The fesse, or center bar, is said to be an emblem of 
the military girdle worn around the waist by medieval 



128 

warriors ; the six pointed stars have always been en- 
signs of knightly rank ; while the good looking young- 
man "brandissant un sabre d'arg," proves the once 
knightly family feature. 

Under this analysis, there must have been a fighting 
streak in the early Vreelands, in addition to the patriotic 
and homely virtues pre-eminently shown forth, just as 
there was in those later born, in the many contests in the 
new world, as recounted in Chapter XXXII, "The 
Fighting Vreelands." 



VOLHARD ALTDYT. 
By Nicholas Garretson Vreeland. 

At Communipaw there settled 

Sixteen hundred forty six, 
Grand old Dutchman, Michael Vreeland. 

Here his farm and home to fix. 
Square deal always did he give to 

All his neighbors, white or red. 
Loved, respected, full of honor. 

When time came, lay down his head. 

With him came good Sophie Hartman. 

Partner in his woes and joys. 
And eight children came to bless them, 

Two were girls and six were boys. 
Enoch. Hartman and Cornelius, 

Nicholas, Elias, John. 
Anna married a Van Vechten, 

Penelope an Anderson. 



129 

So they came, these good Dutch people, 

In the days of long ago, 
And to-day we find their children 

Scattered o"er the land we know. 
From New Jersey they have wandered, 

Founding here and there a town, 
First, Acquackanonck is noted. 

Where the Vreelands settled down. 

Over into Bergen County, 

Next they went in herds and droves ; 
From Fort Lee across to Wesel, 

By the rivers, in the groves ; 
E'en to Hackensack and Pascack, 

Pompton lake, Macopin field, 
Springfield, Belleville, Schraalenbergh, too, 

Trackless forests to them yield. 

Still the Wanderlust attends them, 

Illinois, Cayuga Lake, 
Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, 

Oklohama, wonder State; 
Florida and mighty Texas, 

Even far-off Oregon, 
India's coral strands attracts them, 

\'reeland, Governor of Ceylon. 

Army, navy's mighty heroes, 

Leaders in the many wars. 
Revolution and Rebellion, 

Each contribute many stars. 
Heads of railroads, banks and papers, 

Artists, famous in all lines. 
In the lead in halls of Congress ; 

Kings of Business and of Mines. 



I30 

In this army of the Vreelands, 

All are bound by ties of blood, 
In this mighty tribe of Michael, 

Let it now be tmderstoocl. 
All we sons of Brave Old Holland, 

Good American^' are we too. 
This shall ever be our motto, 

VOLHARD ALTDYT, Tried and True. 

Persevering, now and always, 

In our journey thro' this life, 
Make a mark to leave behind us. 

Avoid always useless strife, 
Show good will to one another, 

Striving always to make good. 
When we die, let all remember, 

We have done the best we could. 



CHAPTER XXVL 

THE VREELAND RECORD. 

The first real estate transaction in the present Passaic 
county must be put down to the credit of Hartman 
Michelson Vreeland, who apparently followed up the 
business by inducing a baker's dozen of his friends and 
neighbors to participate ; but his commission, if any, 
must have been smaller than those collected in these 
days, for the consideration was only fifty pounds. This 
tract of land obtained first from the Indians, the original 
possessors, and afterward confirmed by the Lord Pro- 
prietors, who by "right of might" claimed ownership, — 
embraced about 15,000 acres, so it may be set down as 
the low-water record for valuation of Passaic county 
lands. 

But, while the original patents would seem to have 
covered enough land for a hundred farms, the fecundity 
of the old Dutch folk, added to their inborn spirit of in- 
dependence, sent them forth over the river to Bergen 
county, to Wesel, Paramus, Pascack, Schraalenburgh, 
English Neighborhood, Fort Lee, Edgewater, Hacken- 
sack and Lodi ; to Tappan in New York, to Essex County, 
to Belleville, Newark, Elizabeth, Springfield, Caldwell, 
Westfield, Rahway and New Brunswick and to Morris 
county, to Boonton, Morristown and beyond. 

Michael Vreeland (67) seemed to have been the most 
extreme victim of "Wanderlust," as we hear of him driv- 
ing out to Cayuga Lake, with his family in the pre- 
Revolutionary days, there to participate in one of the 
most tragic events in the history of the family, related 
in our Indian Chapter XXVII. 

Later, he went still farther west to Michigan, and was 
one of the active founders of that State. 



132 

Other members of the family settled in Illinois, about 
1850, as the first stop; thence going on to Iowa, Mis- 
souri and Michigan, and later to Kansas, Oklahoma and 
to the extreme Oregon. A Vreeland was one of the 
early Mayors of Kansas City. Now we hear of them 
in Texas, Florida and Georgia. 

The army records show Vreeland in the most favor- 
able light; among them being a descendant of a Jersey 
family achieving the rank of Brigadier General "for 
Gallantry," at the early age of 25. 

The commander of the "Cleanest ship in the United 
States Navy" is another Jersey boy; and so it goes. In 
other lines, we find the head of the greatest street rail- 
way system in the world proud to own the name ; while 
among the arts we find a number of the family, male 
and female, and collectors of coins are proud to number 
a Vreeland as one of their shining lights. 

Nearly a dozen ministers of the Gospel are doing the 
Lord's work ; as many doctors are healing the sick ; half 
as many lawyers are adjusting the affairs of business; 
great manufactories are carried on by Vreelands ; bank 
presidents and cashiers are numerous ; the press has 
many representatives ; a lad of sixteen without a dollar 
he could call his own, has climbed to the top of the 
wholesale dry-good business ; and another with like capital 
is secretary and treasurer of an immense wholesale bak- 
ery business ; in fact, scarcely a line of business or human 
endeavor can be named where the Vreelands are not 
conspicuous. 

It is, indeed, a notable family, of which every indi- 
vidual member ought to be proud. 

The record achieved in Holland and its colonies, on 
land and sea, is duplicated over here in its every phase. 
The true Dutch influence has been retained in the fam- 
ily as in the nation. 




Nehemiah Vreeland (iooo). 



CHAPTER XXVIL 

VREELANDS AND THE INDIANS. 

But whence arose 

That vagrant race, who love the shady vale, 

And chose the forest for their dark abode. 

(Freneau.) 

Michael Jansen \'reeland ever held that no affront or 
wrong be done to any Indian. At the present day, such 
a just and merciful policy is only what we should ex- 
pect in the formation and care of a colony ; but at that 
period such humanity was generally unknown. 

Soaring above the customs of his time, when navi- 
gators and adventurers generally considered the inhab- 
itants of any lands they discovered or became possessed 
of, as their lawful prey to be treated or used at their 
pleasure, Jansen regarded his unknown subjects as men 
of like feelings and passions with himself ; and who, in 
proportion to their ignorance, were the more entitled to 
his fatherly care and protection. 

His example of fair treatment to the original posses- 
sors of the land was copied later in the procurement of 
the land patents, when the rights of the Indians were 
procured, in addition to the grants from the Lord Pro- 
prietors. He and his children and his neighbors thought 
it only just to obtain the additional rights by fair and 
open purchase, and thereby signalized their convictions 
by acts of equity, which made their persons and their 
principles respected by the redskins. 

The native Indians were naturally of a kindly nature, 
willing to live in peace with their neighbors ; but they 
were wrought up to retaliation by the cruel acts of the 
gfovernment at Manhattan. 



136 

"Midst danger, foes and death, 

Fierce Indian tribes. 
With vengeful malice, arm'd and black design ; 

Oft, murdered, or dispersed these colonies." 

(Freneau.) 

At the time when Hartman Vreeland secured his title 
from the Indians for the land bordering the Passaic river, 
from the Newark line to Passaic Falls, the country was 
a wilderness, the home alone of the aborigines, and the 
abode of the wild animals. 

A considerable portion of the land was covered by an 
expanse of forest, through which flowed the beautiful 
"Passaick," its crystal waters and abundance of fish at- 
tracting the sons of the forest. They pitched their wig- 
wams along its banks, under the shade of the majestic 
trees. 

But, as the white man gained a foothold, even though 
he made a fair bargain for the land, the red men were 
forced back, and further back as the pioneer's axe re- 
sounded in the primeval forest and the soil was prepared 
to receive the crops. The fastnesses through which the 
forefathers of the red men had roamed for ages, were 
his no more, and the land of his birth knew him no 
longer. 

I give below the details of an Indian story related to 
me by a grand old member of the family, now resident 
in ]\Iichigan ; her former home being in the Seneca Lake 
region, where the redskins were more numerous than 
in any other section of the country. She is now in her 
eighty-fifth year. 

"My grandfather told me when I was a little girl, that 
he was the only male survivor of his father's family, 
after a fearful massacre by the Indians during the war 
of the Revolution. 



137 

The farmers of the neighborhood built a fort, and it 
was called "Fort Vreeland." One spring, being warned 
of the trouble fomented among the Indians by the Eng- 
lishmen, they gathered all their women and small chil- 
dren and put them in the fort, with all the available fire 
arms, to use in case of need. The men and the boys 
large enough to work, then ventured out to hoe corn, and 
were surprised by the Indians, who had crept in between 
them and the fort, cutting off their retreat. 

Their only weapons were the heavy hoes which they 
used to good effect at first, but eventually they were 
beaten down and every one killed, except my grand- 
father who for some reason was spared and carried off 
a captive. He told me that the last he saw of his father, 
was his dead body, with the scalp torn off. 

One of the squaws adopted him for her son, and used 
him as a hostage for some brave that had been killed. 
He was sixteen years old at the time, and was held a 
prisoner until the close of the war. 




Birthplace General Michael J. Vreeland. 
Vreeland Woolen Mill, Cranford. 



Vreeland Homestead, 
Nutley, N. J., built 1704. 



CHAPTER XXVUL 

THE OLD ROOFTREE. 

Once on a time a strong man hewed 
A rooftree for his Httle brood; 
His sinewy hands its rafters reared, 
His swinging ax the forest cleared, 
'Till orchard-bloom and fields of loam 
Smiled 'round it, and he called it Home. 

x\nd there, for many a happy day. 
He heard his children shout and play. 
Or watched them, barefoot, wading through 
The clovered meadows, steeped in dew ; 
And, one by one, he saw them fare 
Forth from the fold the world to dare. 

Then came a time when 'neath the shade 
Of arbors that his hands had made. 
They laid him in the soft, cool mold. 
His labors done, his story told. 
And silence breathed its hush and spell 
On that dear place once loved so well. 

The rooftree crumbled, spiders wove 
Their fairy webs its eaves above ; 
But yonder, in the world's wild way. 
Those who had loved it in their play, 
Stopped oft, through days that care beset, 
To name it with their heart's regret. 



CHAPTER XXIX, 

SOME VREELAND HOMESTEADS. 

The old homesteads, historic landmarks, the remnants 
of past epochs, never fail to deeply impress the thought- 
ful mind, by stimulating the imagination and make one 
forget for the time being the prosaic interests of the 
moment. How often one wishes the moss-grown stones, 
the mute witneses of an early period, could talk and tell 
us coherently the events transacted within their purlieu. 
But one can do no more than indulge in the full play of 
the imagination, and picture the events according to his 
fancy. Meager, indeed, is the information generally ob- 
tainable anent the history of old houses. It consists to 
a great extent of tradition handed down from father to 
son. The results are not always satisfactory, owing to 
faulty memory and lack of proper record, yet, as far as 
they go, the stories are certainly interesting. 









;.• 




iT-- 


1 


itJiliPifii 

1 ii#- 


■ 



Hartman Vreeland Homestead, Paterson. 






140 

The old Dutch houses of New Jersey were sohd and 
comfortable, utilitarian rather than ornamental — -yet, as 
one examines the solid walls, the sturdy timbers, the 
capacious chimneys with their yawning fireplaces, one 
can scarcely fail to be satisfied that comfort reigned 
within the walls, and, with any knowledge at all of the 
real Dutch character, that hospitality was no mere polite 
phrase. 

Before Paterson as a city was even dreamed of, there 
stood on the banks of the Passaic river a landmark which 
was built in 1734 by a Van Houten. and enlarged by 
Hartman Vreeland in 1793. 

An Indian settlement was in the close vicinity, and 
Indian relics are occasionally turned up to this period. 
The wigwam was succeeded by the Vreeland log house, 
this in its turn to make way for the stone house pictured 
above. The family record can be found in the Genealogy, 
their military record under an appropriate head, each 
one's public service is recorded, each and all leaving an 
impress for good, and lasting in effect upon future gen- 
erations. 

In Jersey City, the oldest Vreeland house now stand- 
ing is at the foot of Chapel avenue. It was built by Joris 
(George) Vreeland in 1733. 

Another house built by Richard Vreeland, now forms 
a part of the German Home, on Garfield avenue. A short 
distance north of this house is the Garret Vreeland 
Homestead. 

Corner of Randolph avenue and Harmon street is the 
home of Garrett (138), built in 1815, and a short distance 
west is his brother Nicholas' home. Another brother, 
Abraham, lived at the corner of Bergen and Claremont 
avenues. On the Newark Bay shore is a stone house 
built by Henry Vreeland (174) in 1812. 




'^ o 



<■ o 



oi 



> 



m 



143 

In Niitley there still stands an old veteran, built in 
1704 by Michael Vreeland. (See illustration, page 137.) 

Eack of the loaf is the snowy flour, 

And back of the flour the mill. 
And back of the mill is the wheat and the shower, 

And the sun and the Father's will. 

The A^reeland grist mill at Rahway was built by 
James Vreeland (1403) in 1825 and run by him and his 
brother. 

The Vreeland Woolen Mill, near the present town of 
Cranford, began operations nearly a hundred years ago, 
and was a popular place where the farmers from long 
distances used to bring their wool to be made into cloth, 
and is still in operation. 

It was first run by Elias Williams, father of the wife 
of James Vreeland (1403), but was afterward taken 
charge of by James Vreeland, and his brother-in-law, 
Benjamin Williams. 

A VREELAND POET. 

I — 'Twas on the fourth day of August, 

Two hundred seventy-one years ago ; 
Michael Vreeland came up to Albany, 
Corn, cabbage and wheat for to grow. 

2 — Soon after he went to the Indians, 

To purchase the pelts of their game ; 
But the trust put a stop to his labors. 
And Michael to Jersey then came. 

3 — In Communipaw did he then settle, 
A land patent he was allowed ; 
He died just seventeen years later, 
With a record of which we are proud. 



144 

4 — And his wife, born Fitje Hartman ; 
Whose virtues I must not overlook 
For thirty-four years as a widow ; 
She ran the old farm like a book. 

5 — X'reeland home was not without children, 

Six boys and two girls, which make eight ; 
And to-day you will find their descendants. 
Scattered all over the United States. 

6 — Of the boys four went to Acquackanonck, 
Bought largely of Passaic's land; 
And there you will find their descendants, 
All known by the name of Weeland. 

7 — Now concerning these sons of Oom Michael, 
Who bought lands in sixteen eighty four ; 
Their names to you now I will mention, 
That you may their history explore. 

S^Elias. Hartman, John and Cornelius, 

In Acquackanonck church records look, 
By hundreds there you will find them. 
If you only get the right book. 

9 — And now, let me say of the ladies, 

Tho' wedlock may "ve changed their names, 
They surely must be counted in it. 

For Vreeland blood runs in their veins. 

The above was written by Warren \^reeland, of Nut- 
ley, an octogenarian, who died April 20. 1909. 




Michael Jansen Vreeland. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE VREELAND FAMILY. 

xMichael Janzoon Vreeland was the pioneer and pro- 
genitor of the great family of to-day, numbering up into 
the thousands, and spread all over the United States 
and further. 

Under the liberty and custom exercised in those days 
of selecting their own family names, as described in our 
chapter on "Nomenclature," he had taken his father's 
christian name, with the addition of the "zoon," and his 
sons, in their turn, called themselves "Michelsons," but 
the third generation went back to first principles, and 
from that time on Vreeland it has been, and Vreeland it 
will remain until eternity, just as it had been Vreeland 
in the old country for many years before. Much con- 
fusion and argument has ensued over the proper spelling 
of the name, but there exists now no shadow of a doubt 
that Vreeland with a "Wee," as Sammy Weller puts it, 
is absolutely correct, and all other variations are but 
imitations. 

Michael Jansen was born in 1610, and came from 
Scrabbekerk, a corruption of s'Heer Abtskerke (Church 
of the Lord Abbot), Island of South Beveland, Province 
of Zeeland, Netherland, by way of Amsterdam, in the 
ship "Het Wa/en van Norwegen" (Arms of Norway). 
He arrived in Manhattan on August 4, 1638, with his 
wife, born Fitje (Sophia) Hartman ; one son, Claas 
(Nicholas), and two servants. He made no extended 
stop at Manhattan, but sailed at once for Fort Orange 
(Albany), where he leased a farm from Patroon Killian 
Van Rensselaer for four hundred guilders (about ($160) 
a year. 

Governor William Kieft, in a letter to Van Rensselaer, 



148 

written in August, 1638, mentions the departure of 
"Jansen, his wife, one child, and two men'' for Albany. 

In his new domicile Jansen, as in after years, must 
have "made good," for we find in a letter from Van 
Rensselaer to his cousin and superintendent, Arent Van 
Curler, who was the first schoolmaster in New York, 
that he is mentioned as "one of the most upright farmers 
in the colony." Alention is made in reliable Dutch 
annals of the arrival of Teunis Cornelius Van Vechten 
in the ship Rensselaerwyck in 1637; his return to Hol- 
land and his second trip here with Jansen in the "Arms 
of Norway." 

Some writers claim that Jansen came over in 1636, but 
he was undoubtely confounded with others using the 
same surname, who arrived in that year. One, in par- 
ticular, a Dirck Jansen, came over in the "Rensselaer- 
wyck" in 1636, under contract with the Patroon. The 
son of Van Vechten mentioned married the daughter of 
Michael Jansen, and moved to Somerville. From this 
union sprang the numerous families of the name in Som- 
erset and Middlesex counties. 

The energy and force inborn in Oom Michael forbade 
his being tied down to ordinary farm work, and he took 
up the more profitable line of furTtrading with the 
Indians, and prospered mightily, but his good luck was 
cut short by the interdict of the West India Company, 
who claimed a monopoly of the business. Here was the 
initial evidence of a "trust" in this country, a custom 
which, like some others, better or worse, has existed 
down to date. 

Jansen, finding himself prevented from exercising the 
full bent of his make-up, added to a determination to be 
rid for all time forth of the feudal ideas of the old coun- 
try, which had been imported over here in part, such as 
the "patroonships," and to strike out for himself; in 1646 




The "Arms of Norway, m which our ancestor, Michael Jansen 
Vreeland, came to this country. Compare this vessel of forty pas- 
senger capacity with the magnificent floating giant of 4,000 passen- 
ger limit. 



I50 

asked and received permission "to leave the Colony and 
reside at the Manhattans." 

Here the sturdy old Governor, Peter Stuyvesant, a 
prime judge of character, selected Jansen as one of his 
"Nine Men/' the advisory council or cabinet of the 
Governor. 

Looking around as usual for new worlds to conquer, 
Jansen, believing as Hudson did, that the west side of 
the river was "a very good land to fall in with," came 
over to Communipaw, and settled down in a measure, 
but his public duties continued as representative of his 
section in the Governor's council. He made friends with 
the native Americans of bronze hue to such good effect 
that in the massacre of 1655, when every other white 
person in the neighborhood was killed or captured, Jan- 
sen and his family were spared. He sailed over to Man- 
hattan in his periaugua, and engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits for awhile, but as soon as matters settled down 
again he returned to Communipaw and lived there until 
his death in 1663. 

And right here, while we are writing history, it might 
be well for us to set right some of the statements and 
deductions of other more or less industrious historians 
who have exhibited a mild sort of ghoulish glee in 
recounting the alleged exploits of "Our Michael," billing 
him as the "first licensed tapster of New Jersey," a 
"brewer of beer," and other fanciful and far-fetched 
occupations. 

The New Amsterdam Record of June, 1654, recite> 
that "Michael Jansen, of Pavonia, stated that he intended 
for the accommodation of the inhabitants of that place 
to brew some beer." 

Now it is exceedingly doubtful if the spot upon which 
Jansen built his home was ever included within the 
limits of Pavonia, Mill Creek being generally accepted 



151 

as the dividing line between Pavonia and "Gamoena 
pan," and it is certain that in 1638 the last title was given 
ofificially to the land south of the creek, and as Jansen 
did not live here at all until eight years later, he cer- 
tainly never could have been the "Michael Jansen of 
Pavonia" who aspired to the brewing art, ministerial, 
editorial and legal historians to the contrary notwith- 
standing. 

There were hundreds of Jansens in and around New 
Amsterdam at the time, and at least a half dozen 
"Michael Jansens," but our own particular Michael was 
beyond question guiltless of the trail of the manufacture 
or sale of the essence of hops and malt as charged. 

In 1654 he was largely engaged in the raising of cattle 
for the markets of the metropolis across the river, and 
attending to his judicial duties, and beyond the possi- 
bility of his brewing his own beer, as almost every other 
head of a family did for home consumption, there is no 
proof that he was ever engaged in its public distribution. 

Next we read in the more or less veracious Record 
that in 1655 one Michael Jensen, because he was "an 
old man, with a heavy family, was permitted to keep a 
tap-room on Bowling Green." 

Now Michael Jansen Vreeland was only 45 years of 
age in 1655, and that was far from being "old" in those 
days, when octogenarians were no novelty ; nor did he 
have a large family, four children, and one of them mar- 
ried for three years, and his energetic wife, constituted 
his family. 

Thus we feel that we are justified in asserting that 
Oom Michael Jansen Vreeland never was a public 
brewer or kept a tap-room. He was a trader in furs 
for years in Greenbush, an extensive dealer in cattle in 
Communipaw, and when he went to New York in 1655 
he undoubtedly engaged in mercantile pursuits, as we 



152 

find several of his near descendants recorded as "mer- 
chants." His oldest son married and settled in New 
York, and an old deed from Eruoch Alichelson, "yeoman," 
to his son, Enoch Vreeland, "merchant," of the city of 
New York, is now in possession of one of the grantees 
direct descendants, Mr. Oliver P. Vreeland. 

Michael Jansen was one of the first magistrates ap- 
pointed for the Court of Bergen, was one of the first 
subscribers to the support of a minister of the Gospel 
in New Jersey, is found on the list of contributors of 
material for the first school, and in these, as in many 
other ways, proved himself a leader among men. 

To him, in addition to his son Nicholas, who was born 
in Holland, and Elias, born in Greenbush, near Albany, 
came four other sons, Enoch, Hartman, Johannis and 
Cornelius, and two daughters, Annetje and Pryntje. 
Anna married V^an Vechten and Penelope married 
Andries Claesen, progenitor of the Anderson families. 

Race suicide was an unknown quantity among the 
Vreelands in the early days. Records are found of the 
birth of three children to Nicholas, six to Elias, twelve 
to Enoch, thirteen to Hartman, eight to Cornelius, and 
a baker's dozen to Johannis. 

In 1678 Hartman, ancestor of the writer, bought a 
tract of land covering what is now Passaic city, thereby 
constituting himself the founder of Passaic county. The 
next year he interested three of his brothers, Elias, John 
and Cornelius, and with ten others bought a larger tract 
from the Indians comprising about 15,000 acres. The 
payment was in "coats, blankets, kettles, powder and 
other goods," a currency satisfactory to the redskins. 
On March 16, 1684, this founder and his baker's dozen of 
coadjutors obtained a patent from the Lord's Proprietors 
of East Jersey, confirming the original grant, the consid- 
eration being fifty pounds sterling and fourteen pounds 




GovERXOR Peter Stuyvesant. 

Llorn in Holland in 1602. Last Dutch Governor of New York, 
1647-64; died on his great " Bouwerie " farm, August, 1682 ; buried 
in St. Mark's graveyard, New York. 



154 

annual rent. The bounds of the tract as given in the 
deed from the proprietors are briefly as follows : 

"Beginning at the northenmost bounds of the town 
of Newark, and so running from the lowest part to the 
uppermost part thereof, so far as the steep rocks or 
mountains, and from the said lowermost part along the 
'Passaick river, to the Great Falls thereof, and along the 
steep rocks and mountains, to the uppermost part of 
Newark bounds aforesaid ; together with all the rivers, 
ponds, creeks, isles (Hartman's Island, which partic- 
ularly belongs to Hartman Michelson, only excepted) 
and also all inlets, bays, swamps, marshes, meadows, 
pastures, fields, fences, woods,, underwood, fishings, 
hawkings, huntings, fowlings and all other appurtenances 
whatsoever thereunto belonging and appertaining (half 
part of the silver and gold mines and the royalties of 
the Lord's Proprietors also excepted)." A memoran- 
dum attached excepted "a neck of land lying within the 
bounds of the patent of 278 acres formerly sold to Hart- 
man Michelson. 

The patentees, in addition to the four Vreelands, were 
Hans Diedericks, a hotel keeper in Bergen, who con- 
tinued his residence there ; Gerrit Gerritsen, the ancestor 
of the Van Wagenens ; Walling and Simon Jacobs, an- 
cestors of the \"an Winkles ; Adrian Post ; Urian Tomas- 
sen, head of the Van Riper family ; Cornelius Roelofson, 
ancestor of the Van Houtens ; John Hendrik Speare ; 
Cornelius Tubbers, from whom sprang the Van Blarcoms 
and the Westervelts, and Abram Bok^y. The latter was 
a weaver, but he foimd too many rivals in the Dutch 
women, and he returned to Manhattan. This left eleven 
resident proprietors. 

Acquack a nonck, as the whole section was then styled, 
was at the head of navigation of the Passaic River, and 
very soon acquired importance in a commercial way. 




Andrkw Vreeland (927). 



157 

All sorts of goods were shipped from here by water to 
Manhattan until the railroads in 1832 put an end to the 
water trafific. 

Hartman \'reeland soon went back to Communipaw 
at the request of his mother, who was left alone, by the 
death of her husband and the marriage of all of her 
children, and his lineal descendants occupied the site of 
the original homestead until the death of his grandson 
Michael, great-grandfather of the writer, in 1825. The 
house was pointed out to me in my boyhood days, but 
the march of improvement has now destroyed all traces 
of the site. 

The history of Claas (Nicholas), the oldest son, is 
undetermined beyond the date of his marriage on April 
12. 1 65 1, in the record of the old Dutch Reformed 
Church at Liberty and Nassau streets. This occurred 
during the family's residence in New York, and it is 
likely that he settled in that city. His oldest son moved 
to Tappan, New York. 

Elias^ the second son, married Grietje (Gertrude) 
Jacobs (van Winkle), was an Associate Judge of the 
Court of Bergen in idjyy^-'jy and 1680; was ensign 
in Captain John Berry's troop ; representative in the Gen- 
eral Assembly in i683-'93-'95-"99 and 1708. In 1683 he 
was commissioned Judge of the County of Essex, then 
comprising the present Essex and nearly all of Passaic 
County. In 1693 he was appointed revenue collector of 
funds for the war between England and France. 

Enoch married first Dirckse (Frederica) Meyers, of 
Amsterdam, June 20, 1670; second, Grietje (Gertrude) 
Wessels, widow of Jan Langedycke ; third, Aagte 
(Agnes) Van Hooren. He died in 1714. He was a 
member of the General Assembly from 1675 to' 1688, 
1707, '08 and 1709. He was commissioned ensign in the 
militia of Bergen. July 4, 1681 ; was Associate Judge of 



158 

the Court of Bergen in 1673, '74, '81 and '82 and "83; 
Commissioner of Highways and assistant Judge of the 
Common Pleas in 1705. He lived at what was called 
Stony Point, on the bluff overlooking the bay^, at about 
the foot of Myrtle avenue. He was the ancestor of the 
Greenville families. His son Abraham moved to Belle- 
ville, and was the ancestor of the Macopin Vreelands. 

Hartman married Metje (Mary) Braecke in 1672, 
purchased as stated, land at Acquackanonck. He was 
receiver of taxes in Bergen in 1707. As mentioned, his 
later days were spent in the family homestead at Com- 
munipaw. 

JoHANNis married Claesje (Clara) Braecke, sister of 
Hartman's wife. He died in 1713. One of- his sons 
moved to Elizabeth, but most of the family continued 
at Acquackanonck. 

Cornelius married first another sister of Hartman's 
and John's wives, and second Lysbet (Elizabeth) Van 
Winkle. He moved to Pemrepogh (Bayonne) in 1696, 
and died there in 1727. His descendants are there by the 
score to this day. 

Jeannetje (Jane), the oldest daughter, married Dirck 
Teunissen Van Vechten and moved to Somerville. 

Pryntje (Penelope) married Andries Claessen, lived 
and died at Bayonne. 

It will be seen that the three brothers, Hartman, John 
and Cornelius, married three sisters, who were daughters 
of Dirck Claes Braecke, or Dirck Clausen, as he was gen- 
erally known. This gentleman owned the land covering 
Cavan Point or Stony Point, and when he died in 1693 
his daughters inherited the property. 




Cornelius Vreeland (93). 




4 






Margaret Day Vreeland (93). 



CHAPTER XXXL 

MOTHER VREELAND. 

Now that the agitation for women suffrage is again 
prevalent, it might be well to state right here that New 
Jersey was the first State in the world to extend suf- 
frage to its women on the same terms as to men. 

On the second day of July, 1776, (two days before the 
signing of the Declaration of Independence, ) the first 
Constitutional Convention at Burlington, revising the 
old Colonial charter, struck out of the suffrage clause 
the words "all inhabitants." It then read "all inhabitants 
with £50." On this property qualification we are told 
that qualified women voted "in increasing numbers" un- 
til 1807. Naturally they were Federalists, and that party 
continued to control the State until 1807, when for the 
first time the Democratic Party obtained a majority in 
the Legislature and they abolished the property qualifica- 
tion and excluded women and free colored men by chang- 
ing the election laws. Thus the Legislature enfranchised 
all white men who paid $1 poll tax and disfranchised all 
women and free colored men. This continued until 1844, 
when a new Constitution was adopted using these words, 
"white male citizens." After the adoption of the Fif- 
teenth Amendment the word "white" was struck out by 
constitutional amendment. Senator Frelinghuysen, in 
urging the repeal of the word "white," said : 

"If any of you want to domineer over somebody let 
him go home and strut there." 

Douglas Campbell, in his admirable work entitled "The 
Puritan in Holland, England and America." says of the 
Dutch women: "Perhaps the most conclusive proof, not 
only of the high state of morality, but also of the general 
advancement of the people, is found in the position of 



l62 

their women. They are extremely circumspect, are 
housekeepers and love their households. 

"In Holland girls received the same education as their 
brothers ; coming to maturity, they were not only auto- 
crats in their own right, but, as in very modern times, 
often the sole managers of the family estates ; farmers, 
merchants, manufacturers, even poets and painters. 

reated as equals by their husbands were they always. 
Throughout the struggle for independence they were the 
warmest friends of liberty, not only sustaining the courage 
of their husbands and aiding them by domestic econo- 
mies, but playing the part of warriors, defending the 
walls of the cities and even working in the trenches, with 
the common soldier." 

Nor was this all ; the women were educated, and min- 
gled in all the business of buying and selling, and in many 
cases taking entire charge of the family property. The 
virtue of such wives was the fruit of a high civilization 
developed on the moral as well as on the intellectual side." 

No better specimen of this argument could be found 
than in the story of Fitje (Sophia) Hartman, wife of 
Alichael Jansen Vreeland, and it seems to me in every 
way appropriate and proper that as a writer of the his- 
tory of a prominent family I should not confine myself to 
the men, especially when I have such a grand example 
to expatiate upon. 

Sophia Vreeland was left a widow in 1663, and for 
over thirty years maintained her place at the head of the 
household, and died at the ripe old age of 86 in 1697. 

The Hartman family in Holland was one of great dis- 
tinction. Many of the members were seamen of renown, 
and the historians are full of their achievements on the 
water. They ventured to the far off ports of Africa and 
Brazil, and Japan, in command of large fleets and re- 
turned covered with glory and rich in prizes taken. 



I03 

Our Mother Vreeland came from Amsterdam, and was 
married to Michael Jansen in 1631. Upon the death of 
her husband, in 1663, she had the title of the land con- 
firmed to her by Lord Philip Carteret, and it was disposed 
of by her will. 

Her son Nicholas, born in Holland, was named for the 
noted sursreon. Dr. Nicholas Hartman, of Amsterdam. 




Road Leading to Town of Vreeland, Holland. 




Brigadier General Michael James Vreeland. 
Military record page 178. Genealogy (2200). 



CHAPTER XXXIL 

THE FIGHTING VREELANDS. 

In a story we're told, 

How our fathers of old, 
Braved the rage of the wind and the waves ; 

And crossed the seas o'er, 

For this far away shore, 
All because they would never be slaves, brave boys; 

All because they would never be slaves. 

The birthright we hold, 

Shall never be sold, 
But sacred maintained to our graves ; 

And, before we comply, 

We will gallantly die. 
For we will not, we will not be slaves, brave boys ; 

We will not, we will not, be slaves. 

In equal measure to the feelings of the Dutch people 
in Holland, when under domination of the Spanish, the 
above verse expressed the spirit of the Holland people 
in New Amsterdam over the exactions of England. 

One of the old leaders is quoted thus : 

"Beautiful land; to be thy children, we should not 
deserve, if one inch of thy soil we yielded to a tyrant ; 
truly a Vaderland to me and to mine thou hast been ; 
truly do I love thee. 

Indien 'ik a vergeet, a Vaderland, zoo vergete, mijne 
regler hand sich zelve : (If I forget thee. O Fatherland, 
let my right hand forget its cunning)." 

The Dutch patriots in 1568, and for eighty years there- 
after, fought under banners inscribed "Freedom for 
Fatherland and Conscience," with "Oranje Boven" above. 

On this side of the ocean the Minute Alen of ^-yyS'?? 



i66 

had the word "Liberty" on their flags, which single word 
had the same significance as the longer sentence of their 
forefathers across the sea. 

MILITARY ORGANIZATION — J 663. 

Two years after the foundation of Bergen, or in 1663, 
provision was made for military organizations, and 
among the officers of a foot company, enlisted in Bergen, 
we find the names of Elias and Enoch Micheleson, sons 
of Michael Jansen. Each of these bore a commission as 
ensign. 

Encounters of greater or less degree with the Indians 
were frequent, but no serious affairs are recorded, there- 
fore the opportunities for records of valor and glory did 
not eventuate. 

The Hollanders, as a class, were more inclined by 
nature to be tillers of the soil than to take part in martial 
conflict, yet when the "Call to Arms" was made they 
were found ready and willing to do their duty. The 
trouble between England and the American colonists 
culminated rapidly, and when on a bright and beautiful 
Sunday morning in April, 1775, messengers brought the 
tidings of the massacre at Lexington and the destruction 
of Concord, the answer was prompt and swift. Before 
the sun had set organization was formed, and the arsenal 
in the New York City Hall broken open and arms taken 
to equip the first regiment of volunteers with \^reelands 
in the ranks. 

The Congress in session at Philadelphia recognized 
these men as part of the Continental x*\rmy, the nucleus 
of the troops that were to be raised for the defense of 
the country, and Colonel George Washington was com- 
missioned as Commander-in-Chief. 

Within a few weeks the troops were ready to leave for 
Boston, the young men full of pure purpose and brave 



i67 

thoughts. There had been no dispute or uncertainty 
about the uniform ; blue with orange trimmings carried 
the question without a dissenting voice. Blue had been 
for centuries the color of opposition to tyranny; the 
Scotch Covenanters chose it, and into the cities of refuge 
in Holland they carried their sacred color, and the 
Dutch colonists soon blended the blue of their faith with 
the orange of their patriotism. 

Very early in the American struggle blue became the 
typical color of Freedom, and when they selected blue 



J 


^^^b 




\ 


K^ r - W 






^b 




^ 


Hjjpi 


^. 


i^ 


^^ 





Lieut. Teunis Van Pelt Vreeland (iooo), 
nth Illinois Cavalry. 

and orange they chose the colors that had already been 
made famous on many a battlefield. The flag of the new 
regiment, made by the Dutch women, was of orange, 
with a blue border, a cluster of stars, and the word 
"LIBERTY" in the same color. 

Oh. for the Blue and the Orange, 

Oh, for the Orange and Blue, 
Orange for men that are Freemen, 

Blue for the men that are true; 



i68 

Over the red of the tyrant, 

Bloody and cruel in hue, 
Fling out the banner of Orange 

With pennant and border of Blue. 

THE CALL TO ARMS. 

October y, 1775, the first official call was made in New 
Jersey for Continental troops, two battalions of eight 
companies each being asked for. The pay of the men 
was fixed at $5 per month, and each private was allowed 
one felt hat, a pair of yarn stockings and a pair of shoes, 
each man furnishing his own arms. 

On October 28th the Provincial Congress of the State 
confirmed the call, and two weeks later six companies of 
Jerseymen were placed on duty in the Highlands of the 
Hudson, the balance being sent to New York. All of 
the men were soon after sent to Perth Amboy, and on 
May 3d, with an additional battalion, were sent to Can- 
ada. They were discharged on November 5, 1776, at 
the expiration of their term of enlistment. 

September 16, 1776, the second establishment of troops 
in New Jersey was made by Congress, four battalions 
being called for, with offers of land grants of from 100 
to 500 acres to those who served to the close of the war. 
As State headquarters was then in Burlington, the ma- 
jority of the troops were mustered in from that vicinity, 
although several of the Bergen County men had gone to 
New York to enli^st, especially those living on the river 
front. We, however, find the names of Captain Abra- 
ham Vreeland, of the Fourth Battalion ; Sergeant Daniel 
Vreeland in the Light Dragoons, and Corporal John 
Vreeland credited to Bergen. 

In February, 1776, two complete artillery companies 
were formed, and in November of the same year two 
more companies were sent from Bergen County, and 



169 

these participated in the battles of Trenton, Princeton 
and Monmouth, after doing duty in Pennsylvania. 

The Bergen County militia were added in a body to 
the Continental Army, and four companies from the 
county joined the "Minute Men."" Here we find records 
of Captain John Vreeland and of Garret Vreeland, pro- 
moted from private to corporal ; Abraham, Michael and 
Cornelius Vreeland, of Essex; Abraham, of Middlesex; 
Daniel, Garret and Peter, of Bergen. The old records 
are very incomplete. 

Later three companies from Bergen were joined in 
battalion with three from Essex, and two from Burling- 
ton, and the regular militia of Bergen was organized in 
one regiment. 

As is known, the British army evacuated New York in 
November, 1783, and the following account most elo- 
quently describes the event: "As the rear guard of the 
British army left the Battery the triumphant Army of 
Freedom came marching down the Bowery. As a mili- 
tary procession it was without impressiveness, but as a 
moral procession it was without equal in the annals of 
the world. No bells chimed congratulations, no bands 
of music stirred popular enthusiasm ; it notably lacked 
all the usual pomp of military display ; yet no grander 
army of self-wrought freemen ever saluted their chief, 
their homes and their native city. 

After seven years wandering they knew what Home 
meant ; their homes were dismantled ; their gardens de- 
stroyed ; their churches desecrated ; their trade gone ; 
their fair city mutilated and blackened by fire ; but, thanks 
be to God, they had Liberty. Never again would they 
be subjects of any king, or the victims of any imposed 
tyranny ; they were freemen, they had won their freedom, 
and they who have once tasted of the sharp, strong wine 
of Freedom will drink thereof forever." 



lyo 
THE ROLL CALL OF THE REVOLUTION. 

On the rolls of the patriot army can be found members 
of all the families settled in Bergen, and the Vreelands 
were in no way conspicuous by their absence. The offi- 
cial roster of the State gives these names : 

Garret G. Vreeland, No. 6i in the Genealogy. 

Abram Vreeland. 

Abraham Vreeland, of Essex (54). 

Abraham Vreeland, of Middlesex (38). 

Cornelius Vreeland, of Essex. 

Daniel Vreeland, of Bergen. 

Garret Vreeland, of Bergen (1500). 

Michael Vreeland, of Essex (86). 

Peter Vreeland, of Bergen (700). 

John Vreeland enlisted in the first regiment organ- 
ized in New York. 

Jacob Vreeland, of Fort Lee {'J'j). 

STORY OF THE FLAG. 

At the very beginning of the English colonies in 
America the question of what flag to fly was discussed. 
While the English flag represented something which the 
Dutchmen disapproved of, it was yet an emblem of legal 
authority, and for nearly seventy years before the Revo- 
lutionary War was generally used, with a union of the 
crosses of St. George and St. Andrew in the upper cor- 
ner. This was later on displaced by a plain white field 
on the red flag. 

The colonists did some hard thinking; whether they 
would be independent of the mother country, and 
whether they might not, some day, set up a government 
and flag of their own. Matters in this line went on until 
a number of the colonies adopted some particular device 
to place on their flags. 

The first battles of Lexington and Concord on April 



171 

19, 17755 were fought under a maroon colored silk stand- 
ard, which is still preserved in the library at Bedford, 
Mass. 

New York and New Jersey men, being principally of 
Dutch extraction, naturally turned to "Moeder Holland" 
for inspiration. Holland's official colors were "Oranje, 
Blanje, Bleu" (orange, white and blue), until i66o, when 
a red stripe was substituted for the one of orange, 
although the orange was retained for the pennant, and 
it seemed perfectly natural that the home colors should 
be used over here. In an earlier chapter I have told how 
the Dutch women of New York presented a flag of 
orange and blue to the regiment organize"^ two days after 
the battle of Lexington, and it seems to me perfectly safe 
to assert that this was the first flag under which the 
patriots rallied in this vicinity. January 2, 1776, a flag 
with the now familiar thirteen stripes of red and white, 
but with the English and Scotch crosses in the field, was 
hoisted by Washington at Cambridge, but on June 14, 
1777, the real thing — the Star Spangled Banner — was 
formally adopted by the Congress, and was first hoisted 
by General Washington at his camp in Bound Brook, 
New Jersey. This flag has endured ever since, with only 
one deviation to fifteen stripes, and a quick return to the 
original thirteen, and with the necessary changes caused 
by the introduction of new stars for each new State. It 
is the oldest flag in the world, and the handsomest, wav- 
ing in triumph "o'er the land of the Free and the home 
of the Brave." The colors were Red, typical of the 
blood that was shed for freedom ; White, enblematic of 
the purity of the principles upon which the Government 
was organized ; Blue, the azure snatched from the 
heavens, to represent the devotion and loyalty of the 
founders of the Republic. 

The Governor of St. Eustatius, one of the Dutch West 



172 

India islands, was the first representative of a foreign 
power to salute the American flag on November i6, 1776. 

This incident came near leading to another war be- 
tween Great Britain and Holland. 

The doughty Dutch Governor, Johannes De Graef, had 
expressed his opinion in favor of the rebellious American 
colonies before this, and when a Baltimore brigatine 
sailed into the harbor with the Stars and Stripes at her 
peak, he manned the guns in the fort and fired a salute 
of thirteen guns, one for each of the colonies. When the 
news of the incident reached England that power sent a 
peremptory demand to Holland for the recall of Governor 
De Graef. The Dutch Government was not alert enough 
to please the Britons, and a second note was sent, this 
time carrying a threat of war. Holland did recall De 
Graef, but he was so slow in complying that it was two 
years after the incident before his return to Holland. 
Meantime France had recognized the belligerency of the 
American colonies, and their colors were honored on the 
high seas. 

VLAGGELIED (FLAG SONG). 

In 1660 Holland adopted a red stripe in her flag in 
place of the one of orange, and this song was written a 
hundred years later: 

O Flag of the Netherlands, are not our hearts 

All flag bearers sacred to thee ; 
To our Song, and our shout, O banner fly out, 

Fly out o'er the land and the sea. 
Unfold thee, unfold thee, invincible flag, 

Remember thy brave, younger years ; 
When men crying Freedom ! died underneath thee, 

']\Iid storming and clashing of spears. 



173 

Flag of Fidelity, 
Piety, Courage, 
Thy Blue, White and Red 
We salute. 

Thou are blue as the skies, and red as the dawn, 

Thou art white as the noon-day light ; 
Fidelity gave thee her beautiful Blue ; 

And Piety bound thee in White. 
Then Faith and Fidelity went to the field ; 

Where the blood of thy heroes was shed, 
And there, where the sword was the breath of the Lord, 

They gave thee thy ribbon of Red. 

Flag of Fidelity, 

Piety, Courage. 

Thy Blue, White and Red. 

We salute. 

THE WAR OF J8I2. 

The war with Great Britain in 1812 found New Jersey 
ready, and after the call of Congress the Governor issued 
an order to mobilize 5,000 troops. The principal service 
of the new army was the protection of Philadelphia and 
New York from expected invasion. Paulus Hook was 
established as a camp of instruction, and a detachment 
of New Jersey infantry was stationed at Fort Richmond. 
In this, as usual, the Vreelands figured. In August, 
1814, the Governor called for 500 artillery and 4,500 
infantry, and in less than one month the quota was filled. 
The Bergen County company was stationed at the High- 
lands, and 1,200 men were encamped in Paulus Hook. 
From 1812 to 1815 over 6,000 men were enlisted from 
New Jersey for the United States service, but beyond a 
few slight skirmishes in South Jersey the work of the 
army was almost entirely defensive. 



174 

The following is from the official State roster : 

Adrian E. Vreeland, Lieutenant, Captain Jeremiah 
Mitchell's company of Rangers, 3d, regiment, New Jersey 
Detailed Militia, Colonel John Frelinghuysen, Brigadier 
General Colfax's Brigade; commissioned September i, 
1814, for the war. This company was raised at Paterson 
Landing. 

Jacob C. Vreeland, private. This soldier served in the 
same organization as Adrian E. Vreeland. 

John K. Vreeland, private, Captain Moses Swett's 
company of artillerists, United States Army; enlisted 
March 2, 181 3, for five years. Discharged at Fort Co- 
lumbus, New York Harbor, July 14, for disability. 

THE MEXICAN WAR. 

The declaration of independence on the part of Texas 
from Mexico, in 1836, and the attempts to annex the sec- 
tion to the United States, in 1844, brought about a decla- 
ration of war with Mexico in 1846. General Zachary 
Taylor was in command of the United States troops 
which clashed with the Mexican armies, and made short 
work of the business. 

In 1847 General Winfield Scott invested Mexico and 
drove General Santa Anna before him, the afifair ending 
in a capitulation at the Mexican capital in 1847, and a 
treaty of peace was concluded February 2, 1847. 

One regiment was called from New Jersey and four 
companies left New York for Vera Cruz. 

The official records as fa'r as they can be found show 
no enlistments of Vreelands in this struggle. 

THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 

Those sturdy souls who won our liberties, 
Devised them not for an ignoble ease, 
But in their wise humanity designed, 
An equal chance for all to serve mankind. 



^75 

On April 15, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued 
a call for 75,000 troops, with New Jersey's quota fixed 
for four regiments, to number 3,120 men. The Gov- 
ernor issued his proclamation the next day, but the people 
of Hudson County did not wait for the fatter to be pro- 
mulgated. The afternoon papers of April 15th contained 
calls for all the militia companies to assemble in their 
meeting places that evening. A war committee was ap- 
pointed by the Mayor of Jersey City, and two men on 
this committee advanced $30,000 for equipment, tli^e 
banks pledging themselves for $35,000 more, and on 
Friday, April 19th, only four days after the President's 
call, the Second regiment left the city for Trenton, thence 
to Annapolis. The first enlistment was for three months, 
but another call soon came for nine months' men, and 
here also New Jersey was foremost in the procession. 

Three companies of the Fifth New Jersey, C, D and G, 
were raised in Hudson County, Company C of the Sixth, 
Companies B, C and H of the Thirteenth. Eight of the 
Companies B, C and H of the Eleventh. Eight of the 
ten companies of the Twenty-first and three companies 
of the Thirty-third regiments were credited to Hudson 
County. These, beside the many that went to New 
York to enlist. 

Individual members from Bergen County joined the 
ranks of the early regiments which were mustered into 
service May, 1861. 

A great war meeting was held in front of the Paterson 
City Hall, April 23, 1861, and on the previous day a 
great meeting was held in Hackensack, and many volun- 
teers were enrolled. No regular organization of militia 
was in existence in Bergen or Passaic counties at the 
beginning of the war, but on April 23d, at Derrom's Hall, 
in Paterson, it was resolved to organize a troop of cav- 
alry, a company of engineers, a company of artillery and 



176 

eight companies of infantry. Five companies were filled 
the next day. In Company F of the Second Regiment 
Henry V>eeland commanded. Two companies from Pas- 
saic mustered under the second call of troops, Company 
G of the Fifth and Company G of the Seventh. Four- 
fifths of these two companies died on the field of battle 
or in hospitals. Two companies of the Thirteenth, C and 
K, were raised in Passaic, and the Twenty-second Regi- 
ment, mustered in September 22, 1862, was made entirely 
from Bergen County men, numbering 639. One-half 
of the Twenty-fifth Regiment came from Passaic, with 
Andrew Derron as Colonel. 

ROLL CALL OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

Here's to the squire who goes to parade 

Here's to the citizen soldier; 
Here's to the merchant who fights for his trade ; 

Whom danger increasing makes bolder. 
Here's to the lawyer, who leaving his bar ; 

Hastens where honor doth lead. Sir; 
Changing his gown for the ensigns of war ; 

The cause of his country, to plead, Sir ; 
Freedom appears. 
Every heart cheers ; 
And calls for the help of the brave Volunteers. 

The ot^cial records of the State show the following 
Vreelands on the rolls of the "Boys in Blue" during the 
Civil War: 

Abram Vreeland, Navy. 

Abraham Vreeland, Twenty-third Regiment, Co. A. 

Alexander Vreeland, First Regiment, Co E, First 
Lieutenant. 

Alexander Vreeland, Thirteenth Regiment, Co. F, 
Captain. 



177 

Charles W. Vreeland, Second Cavalry, Co. E. 

Cornelius Vreeland, Twenty-second Regiment, Co. C, 
Corporal. 

Daniel S. Vreeland, Second Regiment, Co. A. 

Daniel V^reeland, Second Cavalry, Co. A. 

David C. Vreeland, Thirty-fifth Regiment, Co. F, 
Color Sergeant. 

David D. Vreeland, Twenty-second Regiment, Co. C. 

David Vreeland, Navy. 

Elias Vreeland, Seventh Regiment, Cos. A and B. 

Garret Vreeland, Seventh Regiment, Co. D. 

Garret Vreeland, Twenty-seventh Regiment, Co. K. 

Garret J. Vreeland, Twenty-fifth Regiment, Co. K. 

Hartman A^eeland, Second Regiment, Co. E, Sergeant. 

Hartman \>eeland. Navy, died at sea. 

Hartman M. Vreeland, Twenty-first Regiment, Co. C. 

Henry Vreeland, Second Regiment, Co. F, First Lieu- 
tenant and Captain. 

Henry Vreeland, Twenty-fifth Regiment, Co. E. 

Henry G. Vreeland, Twenty-second Regiment, Co. A. 

Henry M. Vreeland, Sixth Regiment, Co. A. 

Horatio Vreeland, Eighth Regiment, Co. C, Corporal. 

Isaac P. Vreeland, Twenty-sixth Regiment, Co. D. 

Jacob Vreeland, First Cavalry, Co. K. 

Jacob H. Vreeland, Navy. 

Jacob S. Vreeland, Thirteenth Regiment, Co. F. 

John Vreeland, Twenty-second Regiment, Co. C. 

John Vreeland, Twenty-first Regiment, Co. I, Captain. 

John Vreeland, Twenty-fifth Regiment, Co. B. 

John Vreeland, Fortieth Regiment, Co. C. 

John J. Vreeland, Twenty-fifth Regiment, Co. C. 

John J. Vreeland, Navy. 

John O. Vreeland, Twenty-first Regiment, Co. C. 

Joseph H. Vreeland, Twenty-seventh Regiment, Co. E. 



178 

Joseph P. Vreeland, Twenty-second Regiment, Co. C, 
Second Lieutenant and Captain. 

Michael V^reeland, Twenty-first Regiment, Co. I, Cor- 
poral. 

Michael D. Vreeland, Twenty-second Regiment, Co. A, 

Orrin S. Vreeland, Twenty-sixth Regiment, Co. H. 

Peter Vreeland, Twenty-fifth Regiment, Co. K. 

Peter Vreeland, Seventh Regiment, Co. G. 

Peter Vreeland, Artillery, Battery E, Co. I. 

Ralph Vreeland, Twenty-fifth Regiment, Co. E. 

Richard Vreeland, Twenty-fifth Regiment, Co. E. 

Richard J. Vreeland, Thirteenth Regiment, Co. E. 

Richard A. Vreeland, Second Regiment, Co. A. 

Richard M. Vreeland, Artillery, Battery E, Co. I. 

Stephen K. Vreeland, Second Regiment, Co. C. 

Theodore Vreeland, First Cavalry, Cos. B and K. 

Theodore G. Weeland, Twenty-sixth Regiment, Co. D. 

Thomas Vreeland, Forty-third Regiment, Co. K. col- 
ored. 

William Vreeland, Seventh Regiment, Cos. D and E. 

William Vreeland, Second Regiment, Co. E. 

William Vreeland, Tenth Regiment, Co. G. 

William H. Vreeland, Twenty-sixth Regiment. 

William H. Vreeland, Third Cavalry, Co. F. 

A GENERAL AT TWENTY-SIX. 

Michael James Vreeland, at the age of 22, enlisted in 
Company I, Fourth Michigan Infantry, June 21, 1861, 
was promoted to first sergeant, then second lieutenant, 
September i, 1862; first lieutenant, October, 1862; com- 
manded company to April, 1863; was shot through the 
lungs and right hand at battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 
1863 ; mustered out June 30, 1864, but re-enlisted Sep- 
tember 14 same year, and commissioned as lieutenant 
colonel ; promoted to colonel and brevetted brigadier 



179 

general, March 13, 1865, for gallant and meritorious 
services during the war. Mustered out and honorably 
discharged May 26, 1866. Died June 12, 1875, as the 
result of the wound in his lungs. 

Other enlistments from Michigan were : 

William J. Vreeland, Fourth Michigan, Co. I. 

Henry Vreeland, Fourth Michigan, Co. D. 

William S. Vreeland, Fourth Michigan, Co. A, second 
lieutenant and assistant quartermaster. 

This regiment participated in forty-one battles, had 
433 men die and lost 436 through disability. 

CAPTAIN CHARLES E. VREELAND, U. S. N. 

Son of Elias (2003) and Sophia S. Vreeland, was 
born in Cedar Grove, Essex County, New Jersey, March 
10, 1852. Received a public school education in New- 
ark. He entered the naval service as an apprentice in 
1866, and the same year was appointed to the Naval 
Academy. Graduated in June, 1870, and set out on his 
first cruise, in the course of which the Congress, the 
ship to which he was attached, visited Greenland, conven- 
ing stores for the ill-fated Hall Arctic Expedition. Sub- 
sequently cruised in British and Mediterranean waters, 
returning home in 1873. 

During the next four years he served in the North 
Atlantic and Asiatic Stations. Later he was appointed 
watch officer on the Ticonderoga, when that ship made 
its tour of the world, via the Cape of Good Hope and 
Cape Horn. 

In the course of his travels, Captain Vreeland met 
and married Miss Kathrina Tolson, in 1884. Mrs. 
Vreeland is a descendant of a long line of military 
ancestors. 

From 1884 to 1887 he served aboard the famous Hart- 



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Captain Charles E. Vreeland, U. S. N. 



I8l 

ford and was then detailed for duty in the office of 
Naval Intelligence. 

His first command was in 1889, when he was ap- 
pointed to the Blake, a small vessel of 500 tons, engaged 
in scientific work in the Gulf Stream. 

From 1893 to 1897 Captain Vreeland served as Naval 
Attache at Berlin, Vienna, and Rome. 

The outbreak of the Spanish War in 1898 found him 
on board the gunboat Helena as executive officer. Took 
part in several of the minor engagements of the war and 
in recognition of services was awarded a medal with 
bars, also the Spanish Campaign Badge. 

At the close of the war with Spain, Captain Vreeland 
was ordered to the Philippines as executive officer, first 
on the Concord and later on the flagship Baltimore. He 
arrived at Manila at the beginning of the Filipino out- 
break, remaining on the station a year, and is now privi- 
leged to wear the Philippine Campaign Badge. 

He was appointed in March, 1905, as Aid to the 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy, which position he relin- 
quished in April, 1907, to take command of the Kansas, 
attached to the U. S. Atlantic Fleet and as her com- 
mander participated in the famous "cruise around the 
world." 

On April 8th he was assigned to duty in the office of 
Naval Intelligence, Washington, D. C, and on May 15th 
to duty as Chief Intelligence Officer. 

THE BATTLE ROLLS. 

A Tribute by B. W. Throckmorton. 

Call the battle rolls of the American Revolution and 
where do we find New Jersey? 

Let Princeton, Monmouth, Trenton and Paulu's Hook 
answer. 



I82 

Search the pages of history and find a battle among 
the many fought to create the great nation, in which 
Jerseymen did not take part, and always with honor, 
and on the historic page, too, read the fact that during 
the Revolutionary struggle New Jersey contributed more 
in blood and treasure, in proportion to her wealth and 
population, to the patriotic cause, than any other colony. 

Again, no one can read the record of New Jersey and 
her troops in our late gigantic contest waged to secure 
equal justice to all men, without a quicker beating of the 
heart in pride. 

More than 90,000 men were by New Jersey sent, first 
and last, to the front, an excess of 11,000 more than was 
required of her. 

And in all that goes to make good soldiers, in order, 
discipline, coolness, daring, staying powers, self-sacri- 
fice, unquestionable patriotism, New Jersey's troops had 
or could have no su'periors. 

A BOY'S RECOLLECTION OF THE CIVIL WAR. 

My recollection of the time of the Civil War begins 
in the early part of April, 1861. After President Lin- 
coln's call for troops the excitement was intense. My 
father used to hitch up his team of grays to his big farm 
wagon, and with a band of music inside, and big 
streamers on each side labeled "War Meeting To-night," 
drive through the principal streets of Bergen. The 
arn]ory of the local military company was on the corner 
of Bergen and Communipaw avenues, and on the vacant 
lot opposite the recruiting tent was pitched. In front 
of this the meetings were held, and stirred up by the 
eloquence of Hardenberg, Van Riper, Vreeland, Corneli- 
son, Throckmorton, Wynkoop, Van Wagenen and others, 
including old Domine Taylor, the boys responded nobly, 



1 83 

and the people gave of their means toward the equip- 
ment fund. 

The Second Regiment enhsted ahiiost to a man, so far 
as the physical regulations would permit. On the fourth 
day after the call was received the regiment left for 
Trenton to be mustered in. 

The meetings were continued under the auspices of 
the "League of Public Safety," which raised funds, not 
only for the early needs of the enlisted men, but equally 
important, the care and support of the wives and children 
left behind, for with the wage-earner absent poverty 
stared many families in the face, yet be it said with all 
honor to the patriotic Bergen people not one was allowed 
to suffer privation or want. The League was composed 
principally of men who were too old to enlist themselves. 
Another institution that accomplished much good was 
the "Sanitary Commission," composed principally of 
women, which used to hold meetings around in one 
other's houses, where lint and bandages would be pre- 
pared to send to the hospitals. 

We boys and girls did our share by taking part in 
concerts and exhibitions, the proceeds going to the Sani- 
tary Fund. 

I wonder how many boys are alive to-day who took 
part in singing "Johnny Smoker" at these affairs? 

During the period of the awful draft riots in New 
York the colored people of that city, afraid for their 
lives, on account of the outrages committed upon some 
of their number by the rowdies, some of them were shot, 
others hung to the lamp-posts, and many thrown into 
the river and drowned. Hundreds fled to New Jersey. 
The Mill Rocks, the local colored settlement, was depop- 
ulated in the panic, and the poor blacks huddled together 
under the trees in Currie's woods and the "Cedars." I 
have seen bands of the colored men, armed with hoes, 



i84 

scythes, axes, corn knives and a few guns, guarding the 
weaker ones at these camps. A special subscription was 
raised to procure food, and here the power of the rabble 
was manifested. Word was sent around to every mem- 
ber of the committee that if they fed the "niggers" their 
houses would be burned over their heads, but the Bergen 
Dutchmen were not so easily scared. The influence of 
their forefathers' experiences were still with them, and 
they went ahead with their preparations. I can remem- 
ber clearly seeing our carriage house piled up almost to 
the ceiling with loaves of bread, cheeses, hams and other 
articles, and it was a sight I shall never forget to see the 
colored people coming with bags, baskets and whatever 
other receptacle was convenient, often nothing better than 
the women's aprons, and going away again loaded down 
with provisions and singing, "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah," 
as only darkies could. We boys (I was only twelve years 
old) helped distribute the food. 

We had caught the military spirit that prevailed every- 
where, and had organized the "Washington Zouaves," 
with home-made red, white and blue uniforms, wooden 
guns and swords. We had my father's tool house for 
our armory, and we paraded every day after school was 
out. Then the letters that used to come from the boys 
at the front, with envelopes bearing army pictures, flags, 
cannons, guns, swords and camp scenes, in the most 
glaring or patriotic colors. These letters were read by 
the recipients and then passed around from house to 
house. Then came a time when money became scarce 
at Washington, and the men at the front could not be 
paid, superhuman efiforts being made necessary to even 
feed them. Notice was given that the "League" would 
forward boxes of clothing to the soldiers, and home knit 
stockings, underwear, mittens, home-made cakes and 
other articles were sent in large numbers, sufficient to 



i85 

fill several boxes. Two of the committee, my father and 
Dr. Cornelison, were selected to accompany the boxes to 
the front, but upon their arrival at Washington they dis- 
covered that in consequence of an expected approaching 
attack upon Richmond they would have difficulty in get- 
ting further. They were rebuffed at every point until at 
last they got to good old Honest Abe, and he gave them 
a pass to the army headquarters. The scenes when the 
boxes were opened as described by the committee made a 
picture that is difficult of description. The good old 
doctor and my father never got tired of telling of their 
experiences. As each package would be lifted out of its 
box and the name marked thereon read ofi, shouts and 
yells accompanied by not a few tears^ were the order of 
the day. Some were disappointed, but the other boys 
generously divided up the good things and all were happy. 

The next event that occurs to me was the return of the 
Twenty-first Regiment when their enlistment expired, 
when the old Bergen church was thrown open for the 
public reception and the presentation of medals. Some 
of the recipients had to walk down the aisles upon 
crutches, to be decorated amid the cheers and tears of the 
big audience. The women folks had prepared a big din- 
ner with the assistance of the Mill Rock contingent, 
which was served in Merseles' Grove, on Orchard street, 
back of the present car sheds. 

The centennial celebration of the birthday of Lincoln 
recalls to mind the time of his assassination. Our fam- 
ily were all seated at the breakfast table on Saturday 
morning, April 15, and I went out to get the morning 
paper. The headlines, "President Lincoln Shot," stood 
out in glaring letters, and I started on a run for the 
house, shouting the news as I went. My mother and 
sister burst into tears, and no more breakfast was eaten 
in that house that morning. The lying in state in the 



i86 

New York City Hall and the funeral at Springfield fol- 
lowed. I do not believe that a single house in Bergen 
was without its mourning drapery on the day of the 
funeral. 

My father had been President of the Lincoln and 
Johnson Campaign Club in the fall of 1864, and had given 
over the use of his big barn on the homestead place at 
"Off-all" for a wigwam in which to hold campaign meet- 
ings. He was also President of the Union League, a 
semi-secret patriotic order of those times, and he espe- 
cially was profoundly affected by the passing away of the 
"Emancipator." 

THE BOOK OF THE WARS. 

By Wilbur D. Nesbit. 

"Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the 
Lord, what he did in the Red Sea and in the brooks of 
Arnon." — Numbers, 21 :i4. 

When the Book of the Wars of Men is done 

And the story is truly penned 
From the yellowing page of the tale begun 

To the chapter that holds The End — 
When the trumpets of peace the world around 

Have blent in a chorus grand, 
And the battle flag shall no more be found 

As a shadow above the land ; 

Will we keep the Book of the Wars of Men 

In a high and an honored place, 
That our children's sons may be thrilled again 

With the stories their eyes may trace? 
Will we cherish the book in faithful pride 

That men of a future age 
May acquaint themselves with the ones who died 

That the volume might have a page? 



i87 

Will the Book of the Wars of Men tell truth? 

Will it mingle the songs and cheers 
With the sacrifice of the beardless youth 

And the dew of a mother's tears? 
Will it blazon in gold the noble deed 

That won a forgotten fame? 
Will it tell of the gripe of a ceaseless greed 

That has wrought for a nation's shame? 

O, the Book of the Wars of Men ! It waits 

Till the wakening of the world, 
Till the banners that tell of scorns and hates 

In the glory of peace are furled — 
Will we keep it to tell of the rolling drum 

And the peals that the fifers know, 
Or to speak to the men of the days to come 

Of the way that they must not go? 




I 





HISTORIC COINS. 


Utrecht. 


Leyden. 


MiDDLEBURG. 


Netherland-India 


Zeeland. 


Zeeland. 



CHAPTER XXXIIL 

HISTORIC COINS OF HOLLAND. 

A complete story of the coinage of the moneys of Hol- 
land would in many ways be a recountal of the history 
of the country itself. In the early days each province 
had its own mint, and the coins produced at each place 
can be distinguished by the mint marks. Thus, Utrecht 
used the letters "TRxA.," and "ZEE" was the Zeeland 
mark. By great good fortune and the courtesy of Mr. 
Nehemiah Vreeland, of Paterson, we are enabled to pre- 
sent photographic reproductions of some of the tokens, 
the origin of which bear very closely upon the history 
of the provinces in which the Vreelands have particular 
interest, and in which the family has been and is now 
closely connected, and the dates of issue of which are 
nearly coincident with the phases of the family history 
recounted in other chapters. Patriotic reasons are, there- 
fore, predominant in showing duplications of these coins 
to the present members of the family. 

We will describe the coins pictured on this and adjoin- 
ing pages, not in chronological order, but more in connec- 
tion with the localities through which the continuous 
story of the Vreelands progresses. 

As the title "Vreeland" first comes to our notice in the 
ancient city of that name in the province of Utrecht, we 
present a "daalder" of the year 1687 upon which is im- 
pressed the coat of arms of the province and the figure 
of its patron saint, St. Martin de Grote. 

The diagonal shaped token next pictured is a thirty 
stivers piece struck in 1574 in Leyden, during the most 
famous of all the many sieges of Holland. The Vree- 
lands are interested in this place because of the fact that 
Johannes Vreeland was a theological student in the great 
university founded by William, Prince of Orange, in 



190 

honor of the brave defense made by its citizens and as a 
reward for its suffering. 

There was no regular mint in this city and no bulHon 
available, so the authorities were forced to use book and 
Bible covers to make pasteboard, upon which the impres- 
sions were stamped and given official sanction as money. 
A whole book could be written upon the details of this, 
the most famous of all the sieges, where the Dutchmen 
cut dyke after dyke, and floated their vessels fifteen miles 
over once verdant fields and thriving villages to the gates 
of the city, driving the enemy before them by the force 
of the waters and reaching their friends just in time to 
save them from starvation. 

No more wonderful story of patriotism and self-sacri- 
fice has ever been enacted in the history of the world. 

The third coin, also of diagonal shape, is a siege coin 
of Middleburg, struck in 1572, a date closely coincident 
with our earliest record of the Vreeland family in Wal- 
cheren Island. The Spaniards were the besieged in this 
case, and they made this coin. After twenty-two months 
of hard fighting they were forced out of this, their great- 
est stronghold, and its capture by the Dutchmen did much 
toward loosing their grip upon Holland. 

The fourth coin is a ducaton of Netherland India, 
struck in 1728, which was only a few years before Jo- 
hannes Gerardus Vreeland was appointed Governor of 
the colony. 

The lower pair show both sides of a Zeeland Daalder. 
On one side may be seen the arms of Zeeland (the half 
submerged lion), typical of the experience of the prov- 
ince, and on the other side are the arms of the seven 
divisions of the province. The rough edges of the coins 
are due to the lack of proper machinery for trimming, as 
hand shears had to be employed to trim the coins. 

Amsterdam, of course, has a peculiar interest for the 



191 




Amsterdam. Groningen. Haarlem. 

Vreelancls. Here it was from whence Fitje Hartman's 
people sailed forth to deeds of daring, in sweeping the 
seas of invaders, and bringing back rich spoils, in the 
latter part of the sixteenth century, and we are privileged 
to exhibit a token of the year 1578, coined by the Span- 
iards, who were then in possession, from silver obtained 
from the statue of good old St. Nicholas, the patron saint, 
and from vases and chandeliers stolen from the church 
of Notre Dame. 

xA. dozen years later, after the Spaniards had been 
driven out, we find the Hartmans at the head of sailing 
expeditions to Africa, Brazil and other ports, returning 
laden with rich cargoes. 

A Nicholas Hartman was conspicuous as a surgeon 
in Leyden and Amsterdam in 1626, which was just twelve 
years before Michael Jansen and his wife Fitje, and ser- 
vants, set sail for the new world with their son Nicholas, 
who was a namesake of the famous doctor. 

In addition to the coins of the sections in which the 
X'reelands were personally interested we show reproduc- 
tions of tokens of some momentous events in other sec- 
tions of Holland, in which, alike with all other good 
patriots, our relatives have a justifiable interest. 

First is a "Daalder" of Haarlem, of 1572, a reminder 



192 

of the gallant defense of that city, which surrender only 
after seven months of the hardest kind of fighting. It 
was here that the women showed their fighting qualities, 
for among the defenders was a corps of three hundred 
women led by Kanau Simoas Hasselaar, which took part 
in many of the most fiercely contested actions of the 
siege. Over 10,000 people perished in this siege, and 
2,000 of the townspeople were executed by the conqueror. 

This is a fifty stivers piece of Groningen, struck in 
1672, when the town was besieged. Louis XIV. of 
France formed alliance with the Electors of Cologne and 
Hanover and the Bishop of Munster, and had brought 
200,000 men into Holland. This, in addition to her fight 
with England, gave Holland something to keep her busy. 
England signed a treaty of peace in 1674 and France in 
1678. 

One of the streets in the town is called "Oude Kiek 
in't jat Straat" (the old peep into the Harbor street), 
and a projecting corner is adorned with the head of a 
bearded man, with the inscription "Ich Kiek noch in't" 
(I still peep into it). The street was opened to com- 
memorate the siege, and the inscription imports that as 
long as the Harbor is free from enemies no real danger 
will come to the town. 

MICHAEL JANSEN THE LEADER. 

The rule of Governor Kieft brought about great loss 
to the settlement of New Netherland. His trickery of 
the Indians and his general dictatorial policy toward the 
whole people brought about a petition for his recall, 
which request was granted. Kieft, later on, confessed 
his wrong and asked forgiveness. It was seen that stern 
measures were necessary to bring about a return of 
prosperity, and the West India Company selected a mili- 
tary man in the person of Peter Stuyvesant as Director 



193 

General ; but his military education proved of little avail 
in his civil performances. His bravery none could ques- 
tion. He was the son of a Domine and scion of a noble 
family, but he was not in sympathy with the popular 
rights of the people. His private character was above 
reproach, his high sense of honor and purity of purpose, 
his unspotted integrity were outweighed in a measure 
by his dictatorial conduct. He flouted the spirit of the 
republic, and trampled on the instincts of free men. He 
at once met with sturdy resistance of the patriotic free- 
men, who demanded the same rights as in the Father- 
land. They declined to pay taxes not voted by them- 
selves. Right of representation in government was a 
-^Netherlander's cherished possession, and in the new 
world they did not propose to revert to old methods. 

The Nine Men of his council led by Michael Jansen 
and Arian Van der Donck, considered that they repre- 
sented the community, and what they should do, should 
be the act of the whole community, and so, in fact, it 
was, so long as it corresponded with the wishes of the 
Director. 

A protest was prepared to the States General in Hol- 
land, this paper being drawn up in Michael Jansen's 
house in Communipaw, and signed by six of the Nine 
Men, with Jansen's name at the top. It asked for more 
freedom of trade, which, under Stuyvesant's rule, tended 
to restrict enterprise and retard population. 

Jansen was to have been one of the committee to go 
to Holland to present the paper, but by reason of the 
unsettled condition of his affairs with the colony of 
Rensselaerwyck a substitute went over in his place. It 
has been affirmed that when Jansen left Albany he was 
in debt to the ,colony, but here is the lang^iage of offi- 
cialdom : "Jansen made his fortune in the colony in a 
few years (this does not look like the actions of a 'farm 



194 

servant"), but not being able to agree with the officers, 
finally came to live upon the Island of Manhattan. The 
account between him and the colony not being settled, 
in which the Proprietors did not consider themselves 
indebted as he claimed." This puts the boot on the 
other foot assuredly. 

The deputation sailed for Holland in 1649, and upon 
arrival discovered that Stuyvesant like the true soldier 
that he was, was acting under orders. While all asked 
for was not granted, orders were given to repair the 
forts, to export no more cattle, reorganize the Council, 
and establish a city government. 

The course of Michael Jansen as a leader for prin- 
ciple and justice was thus clearly sustained. 

A TRIP TO HOLLAND. 

A land that rides at anchor, 

and is moor'd. 
In which they do not live, 

but go aboard. 

Holland is the ideal starting point for a thorough visit 
of Europe ; it is almost the very center of gravity of the 
Continent, its railroads reach out in all directions to carry 
the tourist into adjacent or far-away lands, and the nat- 
ural desire to see again its many charms canbe gratified 
by the necessary return for embarkation on the home- 
bound steamer. 

The lovers of art must go to Holland, for the Dutch 
painters are supreme, and nothing can be more pictur- 
esque than the infinite variety of queer gables and pedi- 
ments, scrolls and windows in the canal streets. Hol- 
land, indeed, is like a cabinet picture by one of its native 
artists — so wonderfully exact, highly finished and thor- 
oughly worked up in everything. 

If the lovers of art should visit Holland to become 



195 



possessed of those inspirations which found expression in 
the world's masterpieces, still more incumbent is such a 
pilgrimage upon all who are in sympathy with free 




^ bX) 



hJ 



o 



thought and religious and political liberty. Holland gave 
to America the example of a country struggling for lib- 
erty. It taught Europe everything else. It instructed 
the farmers of the world in systematic agriculture. It 



196 

gave to navigation its greatest impulse, made voyages 
of discovery popular, and founded rational commerce. 
Its learned scholars enriched the world's thought, its 
physicians and physicists extended the boundaries of 
knowledge, and from its banks and counting houses came 
the soundest principles of finance and economics. In 
short, there was a time when this little plot of land held 
within its boundaries precepts and examples for the civi- 
lized world. Nearly every city in Holland finds its name 
on at least one page of the world's history. 

To travel in Holland it is unnecessary to be acquainted 
with the language. Any man with ordinary intelligence 
will be able to find his way anywhere. There is no place 
in Europe where the American will feel so much at home 
as in Holland. It is, therefore, the country first to be 
visited and the last which one should leave. The Dutch 
mind is quite like the American in its methods of thought; 
there is the same intensity of feeling on all religious 
questions, the same revolting at oppressive restrictions, 
and the same keen, practical genius. 

As a people, Hollanders hold stubbornly to their an- 
cient customs, preserving almost intact, and despite the 
neighborhood of three great nations, their own individ- 
uality, and remaining, of all the northern races, that one 
which, though ever advancing in the path of civilization, 
has kept its antique stamp most clearly. 

Six fine twin screw steamers of the Holland-American 
line leave New York every Tuesday for Rotterdam. 
These boats are luxuriously appointed and embody in 
their construction all the latest improvements which tend 
to make a sea voyage a pleasure trip. 

The Rotterdam, the flagship of the line, is the third 
largest passenger steamer in the world, being 668 feet 
long, y'j feet wide, and with a registered tonnage of 
24.170 tons. The office of the company is at 39 Broad- 
wav, where all necessary information can be obtained. 



PART FOURTH. 

Vreeland Genealogy, 1638 to 1909. 




Rev. Abraham H. Vreeland (807). 





Jacob Vreeland (185). 



Elias a. \'reelani) (808). 



THE VREELAND GENEALOGY. 

In working out this genealogical table, I have retained 
the numbers from Winfield's History of Hudson County, 
to avoid confusion in searching for information. 

It has been a long drawn out task to accumulate the 
mass of information contained in the following lists, 
and yet it is by no means complete ; in fact, it would be 
a task covering an ordinary life-time to even approxi- 
mately approach perfection. 

The family is scattered all over the United States and 
a good way beyond, and although hundreds of letters 
have been written and years of personal endeavor been 
used up, the task is unfinished, yet for all I am just 
egotistical enough to flatter myself upon the amount of 
work accomplished. 

The indift'erence of many representatives of the family 
has been one great cause for the incompleteness of the 
story of certain branches ; but, on the other hand, I have 
to thank most sincerely those who have given of their 
time and labor to assist me. 

To Nehemiah Vreeland, of Paterson, I am especially 
indebted, for he has been untiring in his efforts to aid me, 
and the result is shown by the complete details of the 
Passaic County families. 

When Winfield published his history of Hudson County 
in 1874 he had worked out a list of some four hundred 
names, while in this department I am showing an army 
close to two thousand individuals. 

MICHAEL JANSEN VREELAND, had children: 

1. Claas, married Annetke M. Gerabrants, April 14, 

165 1. 

2. Elias (9), married Grietje Jacobs Van Winkle, 

August 30. 1665. 



200 

3- Enoch (lo), baptized Oct. 26, 1649; married 
Dircksje Meyers, June 20, 1670. 

4. Hartman (22), baptized Oct. 15, 165 1 ; married 
Metje Braecke, 1672. 

5. Johannis (35), baptized Oct. i. 1656; married 
Claesje Braecke, May 14, 1662. 

6. Cornelius (44), June 3; married, first, Fitje 
Braecke, May 11, 1691 ; second, Lysbet Van 
Winkle, April 17, 1692. 

Jannetje, married Dirck Teunissen Van Vechten. 
Pryntje, married Andries Classen, March 25, 
1689. 

CLAES (i). 
I. Johannis, Feb. 25, 1652; married Antje VanVorst. 
II. Lysbet, Jan. 3, 1655 ; married Elias Cornelison, 
III. Pieter, May 25, 1657; married Betsy Jans. 

JOHANNIS (i). 
I. Catherine, Feb. 4, 1680. 
II. Iden, Jan. 27, 1682. 

III. Johannis, Jan. 16, 1687. 

IV. Judith, Jan. 16, 1687. 

V. Hillegond, Aug. 30, 1689. 

VI. Dircksje, Aug. 30, 1689. 

VII. Cornelius, June 12, 1692. 

VHI. Annetje, June 12, 1692. 

IX. Elizabeth, June i. 1695. 

X. Andras, Oct. 14, 1697. 

ELIAS (2), had ch. : 
9. Michael, bap. April 7, 1666. 
9a. Jacobus, April 8, 1668. 

9b. Fitje, Dec. 25, 1669; m. John Thomas of Eliz- 
abethtown. 

9c. Trintje, March, 1672; m. Lourens Van Galen. 
9d. Ragel, March 8, 1676. 



20I 

ge. Jacob, Aug. 9, 1678; m. Antje Lourense Toers, 
1703. 

ENOCH (3). 

10. Elsje, bap. Nov. 12, 1671 ; m. Edward Earle, 

11. Catharina, May 15, 1673; m. Aert Albertse. 

12. Michael, January 27, 1675. 

13. Johannis (52), April 7, 1677; i^^- Maria Berger. 

14. Abraham (53), bap. June 22, 1678; m. Margritje 

Van Winkle. He went to live at Second River 
(Belleville), joined in the call for a new church 
in 1725, and was the ancestor of the Macopin 
families. 

15. Fitje, Feb. 28, 1680; m. Peregine Sanford. 

16. Isaac, Jan. 14, 1683 ; m. Tryntje Van Winkle. 

Had son Simon, June 5, 1709; Annetze, May 
18, 1712. 

17. Enoch (55), Aug. 4, 1687; m, Marie St. Leger 

(widow of Van Horn). 

18. Benjamin, March 6, 1705. 

19. Elias. 

20. Jacob, Oct. 18, 1708. 

21. Joris (56), Sept. 25, 1710; m., first, Annetje Van 

Winkle ; second, Anetje Van Wagenen ; died 
June 21, 1795. He built the house at the foot 
of Chapel avenue, a picture of which is shown 
in our Homestead Chapter. 

HARTMAN (4). 

22. Claas, April 6, 1675 ; m., first, Annetje Hartman. 

He had one son, Hartman, who inherited one- 
half of Constable Hook. Second wife, Elsje 
Peters. 

23. Aeltje, Oct. 8, 1677. 

24. Michael, Dec. 31, 1678. 

25. Dirck (66), April 3, 168 1 ; m. Margrietje Banta. 



202 



26. Fitje, Feb. 21, 1683; m. Dirck Paulisoii. 
2"]. Styntje, Feb. 21, 1683. 

28. Aagtge, Oct. 28, 1684; m. Cornelius Brinkerhoff. 

29. Diederickse, Nov. 27, 1685. 

30. Marietje, Nov. 23, 1687; m. Thomas Fredericks. 

31. Jannetje, July 22, 1691 ; m. Gerrit Van Riper. 

32. Michael (67), Dec. 26, 1694; m. Elizabeth Van 

Riper. 

33. Arriantje, July 19,, 1698 m. Zacharias Sickles. 

34. Enoch; m. Jannetje Van Blarcom ; had son 

Michael, born May 23, 1730. 

JOHANNIS (5). 

35. Michael, Sept. 14, 1684. 

36. Dirck, Oct. 11, 1686; m. Fhje D. Banta. 

37. Fitje, Oct. 28, 1688. 

38. Enoch, Oct. 28, 1688; m. Mercy . His son 

was Abraham, lived in Elizabeth, and died in 
1771. Abraham's children were Enoch, James, 
Abraham, Aaron, Hannah, Elizabeth, Rachel, 
Sarah and Mercy. 

39. Aagtje, April 22, 1690; m. Cornelius Van Houten. 

40. Helena ; m. John H. Van Houten. 

41. Jannetje; m. Martin Winner. 

42. Elias ; m. Alaritje Van Horn; had son John 

(1500), born Aug. 30, 1730; m. Christiana 
Thiese. 

43. Johannis, July i, 1705; m. Antje Diedericks, 

had son, John, born July 30, 173 1, and twelve 
other children. 

CORNELIUS (6). 
.44. Aagtje, April 18, 1682 ; m. Roelof H. Van Houten. 

45. Fitje, July 22, 1683; m. Laurence Van Buskirk. 

46. Michael, Aug. 2, 1685. 

47. Michael. Feb. 23, 1687. 



203 

48. Jannstje, Nov. 28, 1688; m. Daniel Van Winkle. 

49. Neeltje, July 23, 1690. 

50. Michael (71), Sept. 18, 1694; m. Jenneke Van 

Houten. 

51. Metje, Oct. 3, 1698. 

JOHANNIS (13). 

52. Maria, Nov. 29, 1702. 
52a. Catharina, Nov. 19, 1704. 
52b. Enoch, Jan. 22, 1707. 
52c. Martinus, April 3, 1709. 

ABRAHAM (14). 

53. Enoch, March 14, 1700; m. Rachel. Had son 

Daniel, who had son John. 

54. Jacob (iioo) ; m. Esha Speer. 
54a. Johannis. 

54b. Simeon. 

54c. Isaac; m. Aeltje Van Giesen; March 14, 1749. 
54d. Abraham; m. Aegie Van Zyle, Feb. 23, 1751. 
S4e. Hendrick; m. Entje Wouterse, Dec. 31, 1758. 
54f. Dirck; m. Fitje Van Wagenen, Sept. 14, 1763. 

54g. Lea; m. Dolhauber, Oct. 7, 1752. 

54h. Jannetje; m. Marte Van Duyn, April 3, 1760. 

ENOCH (17). 

55. Enoch, Oct. 4, 1710. 
55a. Cornelius, Jan. 28, 1713. 
55b. Elias, March 4, 1715. 
55c. Benjamin, Dec. 11, 1717. 

JORIS (21). 

56. Aagtje, Sept. 18, 1733; m. Helmig Van Houten. 

57. Enoch, Sept. 22, 1737. 
57a. Garret, May 17, 1739. 

58. Enoch, Feb. 18, 1741 ; m. Cornelia Kip; lived in 

New Barbadoes. 

59. Jacob ; m. Jenneke Cadmus ; Staten Island. 



204 

60. Johannis, Sept. 21, 1749; m. Helena Garrabrant; 

had son Joris. 

61. Garret (80), Nov. i, 1751 ; m. Jannetje Cadmus. 

62. Effie ; m. Jacob Van Wagenen. 
6^. Lena ; m. Garret Van Ripen. 

64. Jenneke, Dec. i, 1758; m., first, Henry Newkirk; 

second, Joseph Van Winkle. 

65. Annatje; m. Michael Vreeland (78). 

DIRCK (25). 

66. Hartman, Jan. 24, 1704. 
66a. Rachel, July 16, 1707. 
66b. Maritje, April 7, 1709. 
66c. Hester, Feb. 25, 1712. 
66d. Dirck, Nov. 16, 1716. 
66e. John, Oct. 12, 1719. 
66f. Antje, July 4, 1722. 
66g. Claesje. 

66h. Michael (1700) ; served in Revolutionary War. 
66j. Margrietje. 

MICHAEL (32). 

67. Hartman; m. Maritje Garrabrant; moved to 

Wesel, had children Michael (2200), Cornelius, 
Jennie, Elizabeth and Beelitje. 

68. Garret ; died unmarried. 

69. Claas (86), March 30, 1724; m., first, Catlyntje 

Sip ; second, Nancy Basset. 

70. Beelitje, March 19, 1733 ; m. Cornelius Sip. 
70a. Maritje. 

• MICHAEL (50). 

71. Metje, Dec. 28, 1720; m. Abram Van Tuyl. 

72. Jannetje; m. Joris Cadmus. 

73. Cornelius (93), Jan., 1726; m. Catrintje Cadmus; 

moved to English neighborhood. 



205 

74- Helmagh (94), Feb. 20, 1728; m., first, Neeltje 
Van Wagenen; second, Jannetje Sip. 

75. Aagtje, Feb. 14, 1732. 

75a. Abraham, Aug. 16, 1734. 

^6. Dirck (1802), moved to English neighborhood. 

yj. Jacob (2400), March 11, 1737; moved to Fort 
Lee. 

78. Michael (98), June 24, 1739; m. Annatje Vree- 
land (64). 

79 Johannis, March 2, 1742; m. Keetje Hoagland. 

GARRET (61). 

80. Joris. 

81. Jacob (106), June 25, 1781 ; m. Catlyntje Brink- 

erhoff; moved to Rocky Hill. 

82. Annatje, Feb. 15, 1784. 

83. George (112) ; m., first, Catherine Newkirk; 2d, 

Maria Schoonmaker Collerd; third, Josephine 
Griffith. 

84. Jannetje, March 14, 1790; m. George Demott. 

85. Richard (112), July 24, 1792; m. Margaret De- 

mott. 



86 

87 
88 

89 
90 

91 
92 



CLAAS (69). 

Michael (133), July 31, 1758; m. Gertje Sickles. 
Antje, Feb. 28, 1762; m. Jurrie Van Ripen. 
Elizabet, May 30, 1764; m. Cornelius Van Riper. 
Sarah, Oct. 7, 1766. 

Sally, Sept. 14, 1769; m. Jacobus Van Buskirk. 
Beelitje, m. John Westervelt, of Teaneck. 
Stephen (142), May 31, 1778; m., first, Jenneke 
Vreeland ( 104) ; second, Elizabeth Van Ripen ; 
third, Aeltje Van Winkle ; fourth, Ellen Schoon- 
maker ; fifth, Rachel Van Winkle Van Ripen ; 
sixth, Hannah Cross. 



^ 



2o6 

CORNELIUS (73). 

93. Michael, Nov. 24, 1757. 
93a. Dirck, May 25, 1760. 

93b. Cornelius (1821), Sept. 20, 1762. 

HELMAGH (74). 

94. Michael, Jan. 14, 1759. 

95. William (1770); m., first, Rachel Van Buskirk; 
second, Catherine Sickles Johnson. 

96. Cornelius, 1769; m. Elizabeth Van Buskirk. 

MICHAEL (78). 

98. George, Jan. 31, 1762; m. Jane Brinkerhoff. 

99. Annatje, July 19, 1764; m. Jasper Zabriskie. 
100. Jenneke, 1775 ; m. Dirck Van Riper, 

loi. John, May i, 1780; m. Aegie Cadmus. 

JOHANNIS (79). 

102. Michael, April 18, 1768; m. Annatje Garrabrant. 

103. Jannetje, Oct. 22, 1772; m. Aaron Newkirk. 

104. Jenneke ; m. Stephen Vreeland (92). 

105. Cornelia, 1782; m. Garret Van Winkle. 

JACOB (81). 

106. Garret (184), Nov. 20, 1801 ; m. Jane Vreeland 
(163) ; moved to Rocky Hill. 

107. Henry (185), March 23, 1804; m. Margaret 
Vreeland (164), moved to Delaware. 

108. George (186), Aug. 3, 1807; m. Ann Vreeland 
(259), moved to Illinois. 

109. John (187), Jan. 4, 1810; m. Eliza Van Ripen, 

moved to Trenton. 

no. Cornelius (188), Aug. 26, 1812; m. first, Cath- 
erine Van Horn ; second, Maria Vreeland. 

III. Jacob, Aug. 17, 1817; m. Gitty Vreeland (227), 
moved to Rocky Hill. 



207 

GEORGE (83). 

112. Garret (194J, Oct. 30, 1809; m. Catherine Mer- 
seles. 

113. Jane, April 7, 1812; m. first, Andrew Cadmus; 
second, Oliver P. Smith. 

114. Maria, Jan. 28, 1814; m. William Smith. 

115. George (195), Oct. 8, 1816; m. Cathalina New- 
kirk. 

116. ]Margaret, July 28, 1818; m. Alerseles M. Parks. 

117. Hannah, Jan. 10, 1820; m. John Meyers. 

118. Henry (202), Dec. 28, 1821 ; m. Julia Ann Pharo, 

119. Helen, Dec. 22, 1823; m. Jasper Cadmus. 

120. Jacob, July 17, 1826; m. first, Ellen Schoon- 
maker ; second, Anna Rosencamp. 

121. Catherine. March 15, 1829. 

RICHARD (85). 

122. Garret (203), Sept. 20, 1816; m., first, Elizabeth 
Terhune ; second, Phebe E. Rapp ; third, Mary 
Anna Van Ripen. 

123. Michael DeMott (205), Nov. 21, 1818; m. first, 
Ann Van Horn ; second, Ann Elizabeth Welsh. 

124. Richard C. (208), Dec. 14, 1820; m. Margaret 
Ann Demarest, moved to Lodi. She died March 
10, 1909. 

125. Henry (210), Oct. 19, 1822; m. Elizabeth J. 
j\Iusk. 

126. Catherine C, May 17, 1825; m. Dr. Watts Bur- 
rows. 

127. George (212), Nov. 3, 1827; m. Susan M. Vree- 
land (194). 

128. John, March 2T„ 1830; m. Jane Ackerman ; had 
son Albert. 

129. Jane, July 11, 1832. 

130. Mary Anna, Nov. 11, 1834. 



2o8 

131. Jacob Benjamin (213), May 11. 1837; m. Kate 
Ann Welsh. 

132. Peter, Nov. 24, 1839. 
MICHAEL (86). 

133. Catlyntje, Aug. 28, 1782; died young. 

134. Catlyntjre, Jan. 9, 1785; m. Henry Van Horn. 

135. Antje, Dec. 14, 1786; m. Jacob D. Van Winkle. 

136. Nicholas (214), Feb. 20, 1789; m. first, Annatje 

Winner ; second, Elizabeth Van Ripen. 

137. Daniel (218), Feb. 27, 1791 ; m. Cornelia New- 
kirk. 

138. Garret (225), Jan. 31, 1793; m. Jane Winner. 

139. x\braham, June 27, 1795; m. Annatje Van Ripen. 

140. Cornelius M. (241), 1798; m. Catherine New- 
kirk ; moved to Lisbon, Illinois ; died July 17, 

1877. 

141. Gertrude. Feb. 23, 1805; died 1806. 
141a. William; born and died in 1807. 

STEPHEN (92). 

142. Antje, Feb. 4, 1799; m. Peter V. B. Vreeland 
(160). 

143. Cornelia, Nov. 16, 1801 ; d. 1802. 

144. Elizabeth, March 28, 1803; d. 1816. 

145. Cornelia, July 2, 1806; m. Garret Wauters. 

146. ]Maria, Dec. 10, 1809 ; m. Peter Van Riper. 

147. Isabella, Jan. 26, 1813; m. Leonard Johnson. 

148. Eliza, Feb. 11, 1816; m. Cornelius Cadmus. 

149. Nicholas S. (247), Nov. 21, 1818; d. Aug. 9, 
1887; m. Ellen J. Van Ripen; she died April 18, 
1880; second, Sara Berry, June 21, 1882. 

150. Fanny G., Feb. 27, 182 1. 
150a. Janet, Sept. 2, 1823. 

151. Stephen B. (248), Dec. 21, 1824; m. Mary Mer- 

seles. 



209 

152. Helen, Avig. 18, 1826. 
WILLIAM (95). 

153. Elizabeth, Dec. 16, 1794; m. John Cadmus. 

154. Margaret; m. Jasper Cadmus. 

155. William (249), Dec. 2, 1801 ; m. Maria J. Van 

Horn; 

156. Peter V. B. (255), Aug. 30, 1811; m. Jane Van 

Horn. 

157. Cornelius, Dec. 22, 1814; m. Caroline Simonson. 

158. Jane Maria. Sept. 23, 1823; m. Samuel Meyers. 
158a. Rachel V. B., Oct. 30, 1826. 

CORNELIUS (96). 

159. William C. (259); m. Cornelia Vreeland (180), 

moved to Middlebush. 

160. Peter V. B. (262), Aug. 27, 1795; m. Antje 

Vreeland (142). 

161. Eliza, June 18, 1798; m. Stephen Terhune. 

162. Cornelius C (270), Nov. 26, 1800; m. Catherine 

Outwater. 

163. Jane; m. Garret Vreeland (106). 

164. Margaret; m. Henry Vreeland (107). 

165. Rachel ; m. Henry J. Mandeville. 

166. Ann; m. Michael Vreeland (183). 
GEORGE (98). 

167. Michael (274), Oct. 31. 1781 ; m. Aeltje Out- 

w^ater. 

168. Hartnan (282), March 15, 1784; m. Eliza Gau- 

tier. 

169. Annetje, March 30, 1786; m. Thomas McDonald. 

170. Cornelius, Feb. 25, 1789; d. 1813. 

171. John G. (283), Jan. 3. 1792; m. Catherine Van 

Houten; d. 1832. 

172. Claesje, Dec. 26, 1794; m. George Van Riper. 

173. Jacob, Oct. II, 1797; d. 1797. 



2IO 



174- Henry (287), Oct. 11, 1797; m. Lucinda Jerola- 
mon. 

175. Jacob, July 5, 1800; d. 1800. ' 

176. Garret (296), June 26, 1803; m. Mary Smith; 

d. 1852. 

177. Jacob, March 9, 1809; d. 181 1. 

MICHAEL (102). 

178. Lybertje, Aug. 14, 1790; m. George Cadmus. 

179. John M. (301), Sept. 30, 1792; m., first, Rachel 

IMandeville; second, Ellen Schwab. 

180. Cornelia, Dec. 24, 1794; m. William C. Vreeland 

(159)- 

181. Annatje, March 4, 1797; m. Nicholas Prior. 

182. Mindert (305), July i, 1800; m., first, Catharine 

Cadmus; second, Annatje \'an Riper; moved 
to Rocky Hill. 

183. Michael (311). Dec. 3, 1807; m. Ann Vreeland 

(166). 

CARET (106). 

184. Jacob, Dec. 25, 1828. 

184a. Elizabeth Catherine, Nov. 7, 1831. 
184b. Jacob Henry, Oct. 11, 1834. 
184c. Margaret Amelia, Jan. 19, 1836. 
HENRY (107). 

185. William Henry, Nov. 19, 1830; m. Mary Ann 

Stryker. 

185a. Catharine Jane, Feb. 3, 1839. 

185b. Cornelius; m. Gertrude Van Mater. 

185c. Garret; m. Sarah Titus. 

i85d. Jacob (413) ; m.. first, Pamelia Van Dyke; sec- 
ond, Mary A. Walton. 

GEORGE (108). 

186. Jacob, Dec. 11, 1832. 



211 

i86a. Cornelia Elizabeth, July 2^, 1835. 

i86b. William Henry, Feb. 15, 1838. 

i86c. Catharina, Aug. 29, 1842. 

i86d. Anna, Feb. 10, 1845 > "i- Jacob \'an Winkle. 

i86e. Cornelius, Aug. 12, 1849. 

i86f. Martin L., Nov. 18, 1852. 

JOHN (109). 

187. John Henry, Aug. 7, 1839. 
187a. Hannah V. B., Nov. 29, 1841. 
187b. Carnelius V. R., Dec. 20, 1842. 

CORNELIUS (no). 

188. Jacob, Nov. 7, 1836; m. Mary Jane \'oorhis; 

moved to Princeton. 

189. Cathalina, March 8, 1838; m. Robert Stringham. 

190. Henry V. H., Jan. i, 1840; moved to Brooklyn. 

191. Cornelius, May 16, 1844. 

192. Amelia Ann, Jan. 16, 1846. 

193. Eliza Jane, May 13, 1848; m. Theodore Cadmus. 

GARRET (112). 

194. Susan M., Jan. 25, 1840; m. George V'reeland 

(127). 
GEORGE (115). 

195. Sophia Jane ; m. Andrew Cadmus. 

196. Cathalina; m. Peter Sip Van Winkle. 

197. George W. (447), June 3, 1842; m. Helen G. 

Smith. 

198. Rachel Emma, July 13, 1844; m. Isaac N. Ker- 

shaw. 

199. Mary Frances, Sept. 4, 1847; m. Peter C. Vree- 

land (353). 

200. Francis N., Sept. 17, 1849; ^i^d in infancy. 

201. Jefferson Lafayette (509), Sept. 12, 1851 ; m. 

Mattie Renshaw. 



212 

20ia. Oliver P. (404), Oct. 10, 1853; m., first, Anna 
Romane ; second, Emma Westervelt. 

20ib. Ferdinand (505), March 14, 1856; m. Sadie M. 
Holmes. 

HENRY (118). 

202. Mary C, Oct. 21, 1851. 
202a. Julia A., Feb. 19, 1854. 
202b. Anna W., Aug. 18, 1856. 
202c. George H., Dec. 15, 1859. 
202d. Helen J., Dec. 24, 1861. 

Henry G., June 23, 1865. 

GARRET (122). 

203. Eliza Jane ; m. John D. Romaine. 

204. Stephen T., died in infancy. 

MICHAEL D. M. (123). 

205. Catherine Jane, Nov. 22, 1843 5 i^""- John H. Carri- 

gan. 

206. Peter (495), Apr. 11, 1845; "''• Hannah Welsh; 

died 1900. 

207. Abraham B. (402). Jan. 21, 1848; m. Augusta 

Lanman ; died Jan. 4, 1888. 
207a. Margaret L., Nov. 22, 1851. 
207b. Lycenia Demott, Nov. 11, 1855; m. Frederich 

Lowe. 
207c. Joseph W., Nov. 16, 1858; m. Jennie Woodward. 
207d. Henry B., Dec. 25, i860. 

207e. William P., Aug. 11, 1862; m. Grace Halliday. 
207f. Wallace N., Mar. 20, 1865 ; m. Lilla Stringham. 
207g. Ella, March 31, 1867. 
207h. ^Matthew, x^pril 20, 1870; m. Elizabeth Croche- 

ron. 
207J. Harriet Elizabeth; m. W. J. Furness, M. D. 



213 

RICHARD C. (124). 

208. James C, May 4, 1847; "i- May E. Norman; 

Lodi. 

209. Henry R. (401). June i, 1850; m. Anna Year- 

ance, now Rutherford. 
209a. David D. (398), Oct. 21, 1853; m. Elizabeth 

Berry ; now Monticello, N. Y. 
209b. Margaret R., June 8, 1856 ; m. J. V. B. Yearance ; 

now Rutherford. 
209c. George W. (394), Aug. 21, 1858; m. Mary E. 

Young; now Paterson. 
209d. Lavinia, Jan. i, 1861 ; m. John M. Jones; now 

Passaic. 
209e. Wilham P. (397), July 9, 1863; m. Anna Vree- 

land ; now Paterson. 
HENRY (125). 

210. j\Iary M., May 26, 1853; m. Garret \'an Horn; 

now California. 

211. Kate C, July 2, 1855 ; d. 1857. 

21 la. Emma Elizabeth, April 8, 1857; m. James E. 

Thomas. 
21 lb. Hamilton (548), March 23, 1859; m. Ella M. 

Coward. 
21 ic. xA.nna B., Feb. 27, 1861 ; m. Albert R. Metz. 
21 id. Richard, Sept. 21, 1864. 

21 le. Charles M. (549). Jan. 16, 1867; m. Edith Barker, 
21 if. Henry, March 18, 1870. 
21 ig. Clarence; m. Edith M. Van Blaricon. 
2iih. Elizabeth A.; m. John L. Flagg. 

GEORGE (127). 

212. Catherine Anna, Aug. 5, 1862; m. Theodore K. 

Wegman. 
212a. George B., Oct. 10, 1870; d. 1871. 
212b. Susetta; m. James Shaw. 



214 

JACOB B. (131). 

213. Edgar, Jan. 4, 1865. 

213a. Lena, Dec. -22, 1868; m., first, Charles A. Loesch, 
he died Oct. 2, 1896; second, T. Herbert Alton. 

213b. Charles W., Jan. 26, 1870. 

213c. Benjamin (416), Sept. 1876; m. Sarah Van Bus- 
kirk. 
NICHOLAS (136). 

214. Nicholas, Aug. 7, 1816; d. 1817. 

215. Nicholas, April 3, 1836; d. 1837. 

216. John V. R. (320), Dec. 3. 1837; m. Anna New- 

kirk. 

217. Gettianna, March 14. 1841 ; ni. Samuel D. Tomp- 

kins ; their children: Vreeland Tompkins (m. 

Laura Towar), Grace Elizabeth, Emma Louisa. 

James Haviland (m. Eleanore Heike), and 

Harold Doremus. 

Vreeland Tompkins children : Margaret \>eeland and 

Grace Elizabeth. 

DANIEL ( 137). 

218. Jane, Nov. 15, 1813; m. Cornelius Brinkerhofif. 
•:2r,9, '^Michael D. (321), Jan. 31, 1817; m. Rachael 

,'■' •y'^ Sturges. 

.•220."' Aaron N. (326), Dec. 4, 1819; m. Eliza Powe. 

,221. Citty S., April 17, 1822; m. John B. Welsh. 

222. Cornelius V. R. (330), July 24, 1825; m. Susan 

J. Smith. 

223. Nicholas D. (331), Feb. 26, 1828; m. Catherine 

Zabriskie. 

224. Daniel S., Nov. i, 1831 ; m. Sarah C. Anderson. 
GARRET (138). 

225. Garret (332), Nov. 26, 1814; m. Catherine Van 

Buskirk; died Sept. 23, 1890; she died Jan- 
uary, 1874. 



215 

226. Jane, July 9, 1818; died 1818. 

227. Gitty, Jan. 7, 1820; m. Jacob J. Vreeland (iii) ; 

died 1898. 

228. Anna Jane, Jan. 27, 1822; m. Michael J. Vree- 

land (301) ; died 1898. 

229. Nicholas, Feb. i, 1826; died 1847. 

230. Abraham, June 21, 1835; died 1835. 

ABRAHAM (139). 

231. Richard, Jan. 16, 1818; died 1818. 

2^2. Michael (340), April 3, 1819; m. Rachel Cadmus. 

SS^. Richard A. (518), July 29, 1820; died Feb. 18, 
1895; m., first, Eleanor Winner; second, Mar- 
garet Carroll, Aug. 22, 1861 ; she died Nov. 9, 
1891. 

234. Abraham (346), Jan. 13, 1822; m. Rachel Vree- 

land (285) ; died 1894. 

235. Nicholas, Aug. 26, 1825 ; died 1847. 

236. Cornelius (347), Feb. 16, 1828; m. Mary New- 

kirk ; died 1890. 
2^y. Eliza Jane, Oct. 21, 1829; m. Henry N. Van 
Wagenen ; died 1866. 

238. Garret, Dec. 22, 1831 ; died 1907. 

239. Gitty, May 21, 1833; ^^- George Newkirk. 

240. Hannah, May 20, 1839; m. Garret Vreeland 

(333)- 

CORNELIUS M. (140). 

241. Jane N., Oct. 28, 1824; m. John Van Pelt; died 

Sept. 5, 1899; her daughter is Mrs. Robert 
Harding, New York City. 

242. Gertrude Ann, June 9, 1827 ; m. Abraham Van 

Ripen ; she died March 4, 1898 ; her daughter is 
Mrs. Boyd Wood, Alden, Iowa. 



2i6 

243. Caroline, Sept. 13, 1829; ni. Isaac Van Ripen; 

Wellington, Illinois. 

244. Hannah W., June i, 1832; died May 28, 1906; 

m. Richard C. Van Buskirk ; Cornelia Hill, Illi- 
nois ; her son, Hiram Van Buskirk, Aurora, 
Illinois. 

245. Cornelius (436), July 4, 1834; m., first, Rebecca 

Ay res ; died 1908 ; second, May Skinner, Sauga- 
tuck, Michigan. 

246. Garret (497), June 4, 1840; m. Lydia Eames 

Harris, Sept. 20, 1865, of Watervliet, N. Y. ; 
she died Sept. 6, 1843. 

246a. Cornelia ; m. Austin Hills. 

246b. Sarah Catherine, April 15, 1843; m. Henry Page; 
Newark, Illinois ; their children are : Nellie M., 
Jan. 30, 1862; Harry I., July 27, 1870. 

NICHOLAS S. (149)- 

247. Sophia Elizabeth, Nov. 23, 1843; m. Peter S. 

Bayler ; died 
247a. Stephen, March 17, 1846; died 185 1. 
247b. Ann Maria; Jan. 29. 1848; died 1851. 
247c. Benjamin F., Nov. 14, 1850; died 1854. 
247d. Stephen B., Jan. 22, 1853; died 1887. 
247e. Ann Helena, May 9, 1855. 
247f. AUie Teresa, Dec. 24. 1857; died Feb., 1884. 
247g. Jennie, Aug. 5, 1863; died 1863. 
247h. Nicholas, June 18. 1884. 

STEPHEN (151). 

248. Elizabeth C, Feb. 16, 1847; died i860. 

248a. Susanna, May 6, 185 1 ; m. John K. Westervelt, 
Jan. 10, 1895. 



217 

248b. Stephen S. (547), Nov. 22, 1854; died July 25, 
1894; m., first, Mary Gaston, 1877; had daugh- 
ter, Gertrude, m. E. E. Milke ; second, Maude 
de Ernie, 1893. 

248c. Fanny G., Oct. 17, 1856; died March 20, 1896; 
m. Peter Van Ripen ; second, George H. 
CoughHn ; have daughter Mary E. 

WILLIAM (155). 

249. WilHam (349), Jan. 5, 1823; m. Euphemia B. 

Vreeland (298). 

250. CorneHus V. H. (350), Oct. 2^, 1824; m. Rachel 

Acker man. 

251. Sarah, Dec. 7, 1826; m. Anthony Dougherty. 

252. Ira C. B., Nov. 22, 1829; died 1858. 

253. Rachel Catherine, April 22, 1832 ; m. Richard C. 

Van Ripen. 

254. Jacob C. D., Aug. 6, 1835 ; died 1858. 

PETER V. B. (156). 

255. Ann R., March 11, 1841 ; died 1850. 

256. Rachel Jane, Oct. 13, 1842. 

257. Cornelius, Aug. 21, 1844; m. Alice Nutt; died 

1907. 

258. Agnes V. H., Sept. 6, 1848. 
258a. Anna, Dec. 12, 185 1 ; died 

258b. Washington, Aug. 13, 1856; died 

WILLIAM C. (159). 

259. Ann, April 21, 1815; m. George Vreeland (108). 

260. Michael (351) ; m. Jane D. Woods, Middlebush, 

N.J. 
?6i. Cornelius, July 22, 1816; died 1828. 

PETER (160). 
262. Cornelius (352), June 28;, 1821 ; m. Ann Eliza 
Van Buskirk ; she died 1909. 



2l8 

263. Jennet, July 31, 1823; m., first, Freeman Atkins; 

second, Anderson. 

264. Elizabeth, June 10, 1825 ; m. Nicholas Van Bus- 

kirk. 

265. Margaret Ann, Aug. 21, 1827; m. Henry C. Post; 

died 1908. 

266. Cornelia H., Oct. 25, 1829. 
266a. Mary Jane, Feb. 23, 1832. 

267. Rachel A., March 27, 1834; m. William Ells- 

worth ; died 1869. 

268. Gitty Catherine, May 28. 1836; died 1839. 

269. William P., Oct. 15, 1840; died 1849. 

CORNELIUS (162). 

270. Cornelius, Dec. 6. 1825 ; died 1826. 

271. Ellen, Nov. 26. 1828; died 1849. 

272. Elizabeth V. B., Oct. 29, 1834; m. Amos Harri- 

son. 

273. John O., Sept. 27, 1843; ""i- Maria Cozine. 

MICHAEL (167). 

274. George. Jan. 25, 1802; m. Hannah Tise. 

275. Anna, Feb. 17, 1805; ^- Teunis Van Pelt. 

276. Gilliam, Feb. 19, 1807; died 1807. 

2/y. Jacob M. (355), June 8, 1808; m. Jane Van 

Clief. 
27S. Jane, Aug. 22, 1819; m. John Housman. 

279. Matilda, Jan. 6, 1813; m. Andrew P. Simonson. 

280. Cornelius (1000), June 25, 1816; m. Susan Sal- 

ter ; moved to Kirkwood, Illinois. 

281. Hartman (364), Nov. 8, 1823; m. Seny Cranmer. 

HARTMAN (168). 

282. Hartman (368), Dec. 7, 1826; m. Margaret Cad- 

mus ; he was born Van Horn but adopted by 
Hartman (168). 



219 

JOHN G. (171). 

283. Jane B., June 14, 1818; m. Michael Terhune. 

284. Catherine, May 14, 1824; Jasper Cubberly; died 

1841. 

285. Rachel, March 18, 1827; m. Abraham Vreeland 

(234)- 

286. Ehza Ann, Oct. 10, 1829; m. Michael Vreeland 

(306). 



287 
288 

289 

290 

291 

292 
293 

294 
295 



HEXRY (174). 

Jane, Oct. 17, 1821 ; John Salter. 

Elizabeth, Nov. 28, 1824; m. Cornelius La Tou- 

rette. 
Cornelius, Dec. 24, 1827 ; m. Catherine Ann 

Decker. 
John, May 12, 1830; m., first, Jane McDonald; 
second, 
George, Aug. 17, 1832; m. Eleanor Corson; had 

son, Irwin, Dec. 22^ 1881. 
Mary Ann, Sept. 6, 1834; died 1861. 
Garret (369), Oct. 21, 1876; m., first, Isabella 

Darling; second, Rebecca J. McFarlane. 
Hartman, Jan. 2^, 1839; died 1842. 
Sarah Catherine, March 2, 1841 ; m. Addis Ryno. 

GARRET (176). 



296. Elizabeth, April 7, 1825 ; m. John Post. 

297. John, July 22, 1826; died 1826. 

298. Euphemia B., Aug. 12, 1827 ; m. William Vree- 

land (249). 

299. Phebe Ann, Sept. 15, 1829; m. David Pollock. 

300. George (370), Sept. 6, 1831 ; m., first, Cornelia 

Vreeland (323) ; second, Rachel Salter. 



220 

JOHN M. (179). 

301. Michael J., Sept. 3, 1819; m. Anna J. Vreeland 

(228), died 1890; moved to Rocky Hill, 
she died 1899. 

302. Elizabeth, May 14, 1822 ; m. Winfield Stringham. 

303. Hannah, Oct. 19, 1824; m. Garret Bush. 

304. Nicholas (371), April 8, 1827; m. Martha Cad- 

mus ; died 1857. 
MINDERT (182). 

305. Catherine, June 12, 1824; died 1840. 

306. Michael (537), Nov. 14, 1826; m., first, Eliza 

Ann Vreeland, July 4. 1848 (286), she born 
Oct.' 19, 1826, died March 24. 1861 ; second, 
Josephine A. Ogle, Dec. 29, 1864. 

307. Hannah, Jan. 13, 1829; m. Andrew Van Horn. 

308. Jasper (470), Aug. i, 1832; m. Ann Maria Van 

Pelt ; died 1903. 

309. John (491), Jan. 13, 1834; m. Sophia Van Cleef ; 

died July 10, 1893. 

310. Jacob (408), Aug. 2, 1839; m. Louisa Opdyke ; 

died 1904. 
MICHAEL (183). 

311. i\Iichael (373), Sept. 28, 1831 ; m. Catherine 

Skillman. 

312. Elizabeth, Oct. 24, 1833; m. Henry H. Brinker- 

hoff. 

313. Cornelius, Sept. 8, 1835; died 1839. 

314. William, March 19, 1837; died 1837. 

315. Cornelius (418), June i, 1838; m. Emma Morris. 

316. John Henry, Oct. 31, 1840; died 1841. 

317. Mindert, Nov. 11, 1842; m. Elizabeth Mande- 

ville ; had daughters, Gettianna, Elizabeth and 
Lilla. 

318. Stephen T., July 15, 1846. 

319. Annetta, Feb. 26, 1854; m. Skillman. 



221 

JOHN V. R. (216). 

320. Anna Louisa, Aug. 6, 1862; m. William Booker; 

their children, Sara Louise, Frank Vreeland 

and William Leslie. 
320a. John Edwin (550), Sept. 14, 1864; m. Katherine 

Dean. 
320b. Frank, Aug. 5, 1870; m. Alvina Cloye. 
320c. Bessie ; m. Clarence T. Johnston. Their children, 

Clarence Nettleton and Franklin Davis. 
32od. Effie ; m. Fred O. Williams. 

MICHAEL D. (219). 

321. Jane P., Aug. 21, 1836; died young. 

322. Abigail P., Nov. 13, 1837; m. John G. Wauters. 

323. Cornelia, Oct. 11, 1840; m. George Vreeland 

(300). 

324. Rachel Ann, March 3, 1843 5 i''''- George Van 

Duyn. 

325. Jane, Oct. 26, 1844 ; died young. 
326a. Eunice, Oct. 19, 1846; died 1863. 
326b. Daniel, Dec. 2, 1848 ; died young. 

326c. Susan Jane, July i, 1854; m. Edward Pierson. 

AARON N. (220). 

326. Sarah Jane, July 26, 1843 ' "i- Augustus Jackson. 
■^2^. Cornelia Ann, Jan. 13, 1847; '^i- Frederick V. L. 

Voorhis. 

328. Gitty Catherine, Jan. 4, 1849; ""i- Nicholas P. 

Allen. 

329. Daniel A., 1852; died 1870. 
329a. Rachel G. ; m. William Graham. 
329b. Susan ; m. Dudley Cummings. 

CORNELIUS V. R. (222). 

330. Cornelia Ann. 
330a. Matilda. 



222 

33ob. Garret. 
330c. Cornelius. 
33od. Cornelia. 

NICHOLAS D. (223). 
331. Alary Lavinia, Aug. 22, 1850. 
331a. Jane. 
331b. Catherine. 
331C. John. 

GARRET (225). 
;^;^2. Catherine Jane, Oct. 8, 1835 ; m. Andrew A. 
Rapp; died November, 1875. 

333. Garret (374), Dec. 19, 1837; m. Hannah Vree- 

land (240) ; died December, 1907. 

334. Sarah Arabella, Dec. 10, 1840; died 1843. 

335. Anna Elizabeth, July 28, 1843 > died December, 

1898. 

336. John V. B. (375), Sept. 6, 1845; m-. first Lilla 

Taylor ; second, Mary A. Taylor ; died 1903. 

337. Lawrence Magaw, June 21, 1849; ^^^^ 1849. 

338. Nicholas Garretson (383), June 21, 1849; i^^- 

Catherine N. \^an Wagenen April 12, 1871. 

339. Edward Washington, Feb. 22, 1855 ; died 1882. 

MICHAEL (232). 

340. Ann, Oct. 29, 1840. 

341. Abraham (386) ; m. Eleanor F. Rapp. 

342. Jasper C, May 15, 1843; "i-' first, Ellen Mande- 

ville ; second, Mary Lewis. 

343. Jane, Jan. 23. 1844 : died 1845. 

344. Margaret, Oct. 5, 1845 ; m. George Carrigan. 

345. Rachel, May 31, 1848. 

ABRAHAM (234). 

346. Hartman (429), Dec. i, 1848; m., first, Letty J. 

Clendenny ; second, Jennie McDonald. 



223 

CORNELIUS (236). 

347. Rachel. March 5, 1851 ; m. John Board. 

348. Mary Catherine, Jan. 21, 1853; m. Rev. Adrian 

Westveer. 
348a. Lewis (392). March 19, 1858; m. Louise Quack- 

enbnsh. 
348b. Edgar, Feb. 11, i860; m. Emily Hyde; died 

August, 1885 ; had daughter Mabel, died 1907. 
WILLL\M (249). 

349. Cornelius \\ H., Sept. 6, 1847. 

349a. Mary Elizabeth, March 12, 1849; died 1851. 

349b. Garret G., April 7, 1850. 

349c. George, March 5, 1853. 

349d. Ira C. B. (487), April 28, 1856. 

349d. Jacob C. D.. Aug. 29, 1859. 

349f. Phebe Ann, Dec. 31, 1864; m. Samuel F. Cran- 

mer, 
349g. Hartman, Oct. 24, 1867. 

CORNELIUS V. H. (250) 

350. William Henry, July 14, 1858. 
350a. John Jacob, Oct. 14, 1862. 
350b. Bertha Celesta, Nov. 8, 1868. 

MICHAEL (260). 

351. William, Feb. 25, 1840. 
351a. Sarah Ann, April 10, 1841. 
351b. Eliza Jane, May 23, 1842. 
25 1 c. Sarah, May i, 1844. 

35 id. Eleanor Ann, July 20, 1846. 
35 1 e. Cornelia, Dec. 23, 1848. 
35if. Mary Frances, Oct. 15, 1850. 
35ig. Ruth Almira, Feb. 9, 1853; died 1854. 
CORNELIUS (262). 

352. John Henry (377), Sept. 14, 1844; "i- Anna Van 

Horn, 



224 

353- Peter C, March i6, 1847 J i"v ^^'^^ Mary F. Vree- 
land ( 199) ; second, Mary McNulty. 

354. William Pennington (434), Jan. i, 1850; m. Eliz- 

abeth A. Crawford. 
354a. Sarah Arabella, Dec. 2, 1S53; m. Edwin S. 
Brown. 

• JACOB M. (277j. 

355. Gertrude Ann, Dec. 8, 1830; m., first, Jasper 

Garretson ; second, Horace H. Driggs. 

356. Eliza Jane, Nov. 8, 1832 ; m. Henry K. Van 

Home. 

357. ]\Iichael G., May 23, 1835 ; m. Joanna Van Bus- 

kirk. 

358. Mary, Nov. 30, 1837 ; m. John Huddleston. 

359. John, Nov. 25, 1839; m. x^nna Simmons. 

360. Sarah, Sept. 29, 1842; m. William Hageman. 

361. Jacob M., Aug. 11. 1844; m. Fanny Richards. 

362. Cornelius. March 28, 1847 '• died 1850. 

363. William Henry, March 18, 1850. 

HARTMAN (281). 

364. Ezra C, July 23, 1845 • clied 1846. 

365. Ann Matilda, Jan. 20, 1847 5 "i- William Sandford. 

366. Garadata. March 29, 1849. 

366a. Edwin P., Nov. 4, 185 1 ; died young. 

367. Jane R., Aug. 23, 1855. 
367a. Hartman M., Nov. 23, 1858. 

HARTMAN (282). 

368. Crossfield G., Oct. 20, 1855. 
368a. Philip E., Sept. 27, 1857. 
368b. Richard E.. November, 1859. 

GARRET (293). 

369. Thomas G.. Feb. it,, 1862. 

369a. Charles S., Jan. 14, 1864. ^ ^ 



225 

369b. Madeline. June 8, 1866. 
GEORGE (300). 

370. Rachel Ann, March 30, 1859; died 1861. 
370a. Garret, Oct. 24, i860. 

NICHOLAS (304). 

371. Rachel Elizabeth. Nov. 26, 1850; m. George H. 

Cadmus. 

372. Catherine Ann_, June 2, 1853. 
372a. Nicholas, April 5, 1857. 

MICHAEL (311)., 

373. Mary Annetta, Feb. 22, 1865. 
373a. Cornelius, May 31, 1870. 

GARRET (333)- 

374. Anna Jane, Nov. 16, 1861 ; died 1862. 
374a. Edwin, Aug. 10, 1864; died 1865. 
374b. Garret, July 21, 1868; died 1871. 
374c. John H.,_Jan. 16, 1870; died 1870. 
374d. Charles Henry, Sept. 2, 1873 ; died 1873. 
374e. Bertie. 

374f. Franklin (494), Dec. 15, 1877; m. Alice C. 
Hutchinson. 

JOHN V. B. (336). 

375. John Pierson, May 19, 1870; died 1870. 
375a. Frederick King, March 4, 1874. 

JOHN HENRY (352). 

376. Anna, July 6, 1865 ; m. Frank Fleming, Nov. 7, 

1888; their children are: Margaret, June I, 
1890; Elizabeth, Sept. 18, 1893; Myrtle, Feb. 
16, 1896, and Grace, Sep. 11, 1899. 

377. Cornelius P. (512), March 4, 1868: m. Johanna 

White. May 27, 1887. 



226 

3/8. Sarah Arabella, Feb. lo, 1870; m. George P. 
Smith, Oct. 4, 1892 ; their children are : Doro- 
thy, April 19, 1894; Amy, Oct. 31, 1897; Elsie, 
Jan. 6, 1902 ; and Hazel, June 23, 1907. 

379. David L. (515), Sept. 3, 1872; m. Mary Weber, 

June 26, 1896. 

380. William P. (516), April i, 1875; "i- Leonora 

Stillwell, March 29, 1898. 

381. John Henry, Oct. 6, 1877; m. Janet Thompson, 

Jan. 15, 1907. 

382. Frank, March 10, 188 1. 

NICHOLAS G. (338). 

383. Henry Garret, Oct. 4, 1873 ; d. Dec. 25, 1873. 

384. Edward Van Wagenen, Sept. 16, 1874. 

385. Catherine Jane, Nov. 17, 1875. 

ABRAHAM (341). 

386. Leroux (422), Oct. 16, 1866; m., first, Carrie 

Dention ; second, Margaret Ball. 

387. Adele H., May 30, 1869; m. Elmer W. Affleck, of 

Westfield, N. J.; have son, Maurice E. Affleck. 

388. Jasper C. (424), Dec. 5, 1873; m. Laberta H. 

Smith. 

389. Robert E. (425), July 10, 1875; m. Estella E. 

Phillips. 

390. Richard M. (428), March 24, 1877; m. Kathryn 

Stanton. 

391. Edith P., Jan. 12, 1879. 

. LEWIS (348a). 

392. Walter J., Sept. 20, 1880; m. Fannie Sutherland, 

Apr. 10, 1907; had daughter, Olga Mildred, 
Jan. 3, 1909. 

393. Florence, Oct. 22, 1886. 



227 

GEORGE W. (209). 

394. Dorothy T., June 9, 1896. 

395. Carolyn M., Nov. 3, 1898. 

396. Wesley T., April 17, 1900. 

WILLIAM P. (2096). 

397. Elmer. 

DAVID D. (209a). 

398. Anna. 

399. David. 

400. Reuben. 

HENRY (209). - 

401. Harold. 

ABRAM B. (207V 

402. Henry Demott, Feb. 23, 1873; died 1901. 

403. Sylvester Y. H. (406), May 10, 1876; m. Melissa 

Gahagan. 

404. Norris W., Oct. 10, 1878. 

405. Edith May, 1880; m. William Rainey. 

SYLVESTER V. H. (403). 

406. Claire Van Home, Feb. 12, 1899. 

407. Madeline, Jan. 19, 1905. 

JACOB M. (310). 

408. William Updike (410), Aug. 13, 1870; m. Alice 

May Brown May 9, 1900; she born Feb. 26, 
1901. 

409. Walter M. (411). Feb. 27, 1875; m. Carrie A. 

Robins, 1905. 

WILLIAM U. (408). 

410. May, Feb. 26, 1901. 

WALTER M. (409). 

411. Walter Monroe, Dec. 27, 1906. 

412. Albert P., Sept. 14. 1908. 



228 

JACOB (185). 

413. John Henry, March 6, 1858. 

414. Anna, March 16, i860. 

415. Clara W., April 14, 1866. 

BENJAMIN (213c). 

416. Charles A., Sept. 16, 1898. 

417. Benjamin V., Dec. 27, 1899. 

CORNELIUS (315). 

418. Emma, Jvily 14, 1866. 

419. Henry H. B. 

420. Wesley. 

421. William N., Oct. 5, 1877; m. Cassie V. W. Speer. 

LEROUX H. (386). 

422. Leroux Denton, March 10, 1894. 

423. Wallace Kenneth, June 3, 1899. 

JASPER C. (388). 

424. Ray Elwood, Nov. 11, 1895. 

ROBERT E. (389). 

425. Robert E., Aug. 8, 1898. 

426. Eleanor F., April 25, 1902. 

427. Mildred E., Sept. 15, 1908. 

RICHARD M. (390). 

428. Edith Phebe. 

HARTMAN (346). 

429. Clarence, Oct. 22, 1873 ; m. Margaret Koman. 

430. Herbert, Dec. 20. 1874. 

431. Alfred. Aug. 9, 1878; died 1882. 

432. Eddie, April 22, 1877; died 1877. 

433. Rachel E., Feb. 16, 1882; died 1882. 

WILLIAM P. (354). 

434. Charles S. (435), July 14, 1875; m. Emma P. 

Walker. 



229 

CHARLES (434). 

435. Kenneth Walker, Sept. 22, 1906. 

CORNELIUS (245). 

436. Lillian Eliza, June 3, 1858; m. Judson A. Scofield, 

Newark, 111. ; have children. William ; m. Edna 
P. James. Inez ; m. Milton R. Fowler ; Percy 
and Russell. 

437. Lottie Lovicea, Oct. 5, i860; m. George Scofield; 

Hoopeston, 111. ; have son George born 1884, 
died 1887. 

438. William H. (459), Dec. 14, 1862; m. Male E. 

Haverhill. 

439. Cornelius P., June 16, 1864; Morris, 111. 

440. Jennie V. W. ; m. Frank Ripley. 

441. Irving Gains (436), June 16, 1869; m. Josephine 

Johnson ; Morris, 111. 

442. Mary E., April 18, 1873; died 1894. 

443. Ray C, June 12, 1886; m. Sarah ; Welling- 

ton, 111. 

444. Catherine L., April 27, 1888 ; Naperville, 111. 

445. Mabel, Feb. 24, 1884; died 

GEORGE W. (197). 

447. Jennie ; died young. 

448. Katherine. 

449. Elizabeth, March 17, 1874. 

450. Helen, March 27, 1876; died 1878. 

451. Oliver P. S., March 27, 1878. 

452. Emmett S., June 13, 1884; died 1888. 

453. George Ray. April 16, 1890. 

OLIVER P. (201). 

454. Nellie, Sept. 29, 1879; died Dec. 29, 1881. 

455. Howard R.. Jan. 11, 1884. 

456. Albert R.. Oct. 28, 1886; m. Daisy Sykes; March 

25, 1909. 



230 

457- Alice Madelene, Feb. ii, 1893. 

458. Perry W., June 24, 1899. 

WILLIAM H. (438). 

459. Rebecca Louvicea, Dec. 9, 1888. 

460. Frederick Oliver, Aug. 10, 1890. 

461. Clifford Cornelius, Sept. 24, 1895. 

462. William Haverhill, May 12, 1900. 

IRVING G. (441 j. 

463. Robert Irving, Ocl. 1, 1896. 

464. Lottie Alice, Dec. 9, 1897. 

465. Shirlie Mildred, Sept. 29, 1899. 

466. Rebecca Louvicea, July 7, 1901. 

467. Mola May, Sept. 20, 1903. 

468. Gladys Viola, April 20, 1903. 

469. Eleanor Dorothy, June 5, 1908. 

JASPER (308). 

470. Charles Edwin (475), April 9, 1855; m. Kate 

Eldridge. 

471. Tunis Seymore (482), May 8, 1857; m. Mary L. 

Castner. 

472. John Howard, Oct. 11, 1861 ; died 1882. 

473. Anna Barton, Sept. 13, 1866; m. Albert H. Phil- 

lips ; have daughter, Gertrude V., May 20, 1887. 

474. Selina Barger, Feb. 20, 1874; m. James Car- 

michael ; have daughter, Dorothy, July 3, 1904. 

CHARLES E. (470). 

475. Eva May, July 10, 1880; died 1880. 

476. John Howard, May i, i88r. 

477. Grace, Nov. 3, 1883. 

478. George Alfred, Aug. 26, 1885. 

479. Albert Phillips, Dec. 6, 1887 ; died 1889. 

480. Mildred Phillips, May 22, 1894; died 1895. 

481. Clarence Raymond, Sept. 29. 1896. 



1 



482 

483 



485 
486 



TUNIS S. (471). 
A/[abel, May 6, 1881 ; died 1883. 
Elmer Leonard, Sept. 9, 1883. 
Edith Alay, March 11, 1886. 
Blanche, April 15, 1888. 
Harold Seymore, June 7, 1897. 



IRA (349d). 

487. John H. (488) ; m. Minnie Worth. 

JOHN H. (487). 

488. William, March 23, 1903. 

489. Hartman, Nov. 5, 1905. 

490. Frederick, Aug. 5, 1908; died 1908. 

JOHN {309). 

491. George Van Clef, April 26, 1865; m. Kitty C. 

Hon. 

492. Mary Burton, Jan. 20, 1868; m. Louis I. X'^an 

Alstyne ; their children: George V., Nov. 13, 
1889; Gansevoort T. E., Sept. 18, 1891 ; Emma 
R., Jan. 19, 1894; and Louis I., April 6, 1897. 

493. Emma Somers, Jan. 20, 1868; m. Elon Sefton 

Rogers; their children: Elon Sefton. June 8, 
1895; George V., March 30, 1903. 

FRANKLIN (374f). 

494. Frederick Franklin, June 10, 1908. 

PETER (206). 

495. Reuben, 1872. 

496. Arthur L., 1877; m. Grace R. Le Pier. 

GARRET (246). 

497. Charles Emerson (502), Nov. 5, 1866; m. Helen 

Kipp, Dec. 16, 1896. 

498. Carrie Lucina, April 29. 1868 ; now in Chicago, 

Illinois. 



232 

499- Maggie Newkirk, August 21, 1869; m. William 
H. Keith, Aug. 21, 1893; their children are 
Margaret and Clair Eames. 

500. Lydia Olive, March 2^ , 1876; m. E. E. Wain- 

wright Aug. 3. 1898 ; their children : Wilmer 
Garret and Agnes Florence. 

501. Eddy Garret. Jan. 19, 1880; had son. Garret Eddy^ 

died young. 

CHARLES (497). 

502. Henry Kipp. 

503. Helen Olive. 

504. Ruth. 

FERDINAND (201). 

505. Viola. 

506. Florence. 

507. Margaret. 

508. Asher Holmes ; d. June 17, 1909. 

JEFFERSON (201). 

509. Mattie, June 11, 1886. 

510. Renshow, April 27, 1887. 

511. Robert Elmer, April 11, 1890. 

CORNELIUS P. (377)- 

512. Sarah Arabella, Dec. 8, 1888. 

513. Leroy, March 7, 1890. 

514. Viola, Jan. 8, 1896. 

DAVID L. (379). 

515. Henry LesHe, June 6, 1897. 

WILLIAM P. (380). 

516. Velma Frances, March 15, 1899. 

517. Clarence Pennington, Dec. 24, 1905. 



233 « 

RICHARD (233). 

518. Richard J., Nov. 25, 1862; m. Nellie T. Cleary, 

April 25, 1888. 

519. Cornelius; died in infancy. 

520. Edward; died in infancy. 

521. Nicholas F., Oct. 2, 1870; m. Annie M. Enright ; 

Jan. 24, 1894. 

522. Henry A., July 10, 1874; m. Annie Nuss ; Jan. 30, 

1889. 

RICHARD J. (518). 

523. Richard E., Aug. 6, 1890; died Feb. 19, 1893. 

524. Marguerite M., Oct. 21, 1891. 

525. Daniel Emanuel Cleary, June 28, 1895. 

526. Nellie, Aug. 31, 1897. 

NICHOLAS F. (521). 

527. Richard E., Feb. 7, 1895. 

528. Mary E., April 12, 1899. 

529. Nicholas F., Aug. 9, 1901. 

530. Henry, Nov. 3, 1902. 

531. Edward, Aug. 7, 1905. 

HENRY A. (522). 

532. Allen, July 25, 1901. 

533. Marguerite, Aug. 16, 1902. 

534. Helen, Sept. 10, 1903. 

535. Walter, Oct. 12, 1904; died Jan. i, 1905. 

536. Richard ; died in infancy. 

MICHAEL (306). 

537. Catherine, Sept. 21, 1849; died Sept. 30, 1849. 

538. Mindert (542), Feb. 15, 1852; m., first, Virginia 

E. Blossingham, Dec. 17, 1874; she died June 
20, 1895 ' second, Sarah Alva \\^aters, June 6, 
1900; she died April 4, 1907. 



234 

539- Jacob Edgar, Oct. i, 1854; died Oct. 26, 185S. 

540. Clara Ogle; m. Robert Wiley Oct. 10, 1S90; died 

April 26, 1907. 

541. Annie Cadmus; m. John Roberts. 

MINDERT (538). 

542. William Mindert (545 j, Feb. 2., 1876; m. Alfarata 

Knight, June 8, 1898; she born March 16, 1S75. 

543. Nellie May, May 24, 1880; died Jan. 28, 1882. 

544. Gertrude Eudoxia, Nov. i, 1882. 

WILLIAM M. (542). 

545. Arnold Wilson, Nov. 28, 1902. 

546. William Washington, March 13, 1907. 

STEPHEN S. (248). 

547. Stephen B. 

HAMILTON (21 Id). 

548. Hamilton. 

CHARLES (21 le). 

549. Ruth, Nov. 22, 1907. 

JOHN EDWIN (320). 

550. Edwin; Anna; Dean, Louise and Lucille. 



PASSAIC COUNTY. 

6oi. Jacob John, Feb. 23, 1775; m. Phebe Walls; died 
Nov. 5, 1859; he gave the land for the Re- 
formed Dutch Cemetery at Acqnackanonck. 

JACOB JOHN (601). 

602. John J. (608), Feb. 14, 1797: m. Rachel Siglcr, 

Dec. 19, 1818; died June, 1835. 

603. Jacob (616), Oct. 7, 1802; m. Susan Taylor, Aug. 

6, 1825; died Dec. 15, 1845. 

604. Martin (620), Sept. 29, 1805; m. Jane Terhune, 

May 15, 1826; died June 22, 1883. 

605. Jane, Feb. 14, 1808; m. John W. Campbell, Jan. 

3, 1823; died Dec. 19, 1874. 

606. Phebe, Dec. 20, 1812; m. E. J. Jerolamon; died 

April 8, 1848. 

607. Elias (623), 1818; m. Rachel Van Houten, Oct. 4, 

1838. 

JOHN J. (602). 

608. Cynthia, Sept. 28, 1821 ; m. Godfrey Miller; died 

1880. 

609. Romulus (629), Oct. 5, 1823; m. Sarah Nichols; 

died Oct. i, 1892. 

610. Remus (633), Oct. 5, 1823; m. Valaria Consoley. 

611. Phebe, Jan. 13, 1826; m. James Tompson. 

612. Leah, March 17, 1828; m. James Briggs ; died 

1881. 

613. Jane, March 2, 1830; m. Gustav Keisshauer; died 

Aug. 22, 1908. 

614. Ellen, May 8, 1832 ; m. Thomas Whittaker. 

615. Katherine, Aug. 14, 1834; m. George Worden, 

Feb. II, 1854; died Feb. i, 1901. 



238 

JACOB (603). 

616. Jacob (638), Dec. 28, 1827; m. Sarah Cadmus. 

617. Elizabeth; m. Morris Crane. 

618. Rachel, Feb. 19. 1839; m. Benjamin Vreeland 

(664), Oct. 9, 1859. 

619. INIary; m. Archibald Hamill. 

MARTIN (604). 

620. Martin. 

621. John. 

622. Peter. 

ELIAS (607). 

623. Cornelia Jane, July 18, 1842; m. Abram Garra- 

brant, Oct. 24, 1879. 

624. Jacob John (644), Oct. 3, 1843; i^^- Anna 

Cuman. 

625. Henry Van Houten (645), Aug. 23. 1845; "i- 

Ann Brokaw. 

626. Catherine Anna, March 29, 1852; m. W. B. Tur- 

ner, Newark, N. J. 

627. Helen Maria, March 9, 1854; m. Thomas Lee. 

628. Cyrus Elias (649), Sept. 29, 1857; m. Louise 

Westerfield. 

ROMULUS (609). 

629. Sophia L. D. ; m. Abram Marshall. 

630. Oscar F. 

631. Francis Valaria. 

632. Mary. 

REMUS (619). 

633. Oscar F. 

634. Ann Eliza, October, 1850. 

635. Harriet. 1854. 

636. Dr. Frank D. (651), Jan. 27, 1852; m. Ann 

Doremus. 



I 



239 

637. George. 
JACOB (616). 

638. Jacob John (652), Sept. 10, 1854; m. Mary 

Murray. 

639. Annie, April 6, 1856; m. William Neal. 

640. William Thomas (653), Dec. 7, 1857; m. Ann 

]\Iurphy, Wilmington, Del. 

641. Susan; m. Joseph Philbrook. 

642. Sarah ; m. William E. Corning. 

643. George, May 27, 1876; m. Ella Jones, Jan. 23, 

1898. 

JACOB J. (624). 

644. Herbert. 

HENRY V. H. (625). 

645. Minnie. 

646. Helen M. 

647. Grace. 

648. Clara. 

CYRUS ELI AS (628). 

649. Herbert. 

650. Evelyn. 

FRANK D. (636). 

651. Dr. Ralph D., Sept. 18, 1883, Passaic, N. J. 

JACOB J. (638). 

652. John. 

WILLIAM T. (640). 

653. Edna. 

654. William. 



661. Paul (662), Nov. 22, 1806; m. Hannah Brown. 

662. Elizabeth; m. James Black; now Belleville. N. J. 

663. Joseph (667) ; m. Mary Thornhill. 



240 

664. Benjamin (670), Aug. 7, 1835; •i''- Rachel \>ee- 

land (618), Oct. 9, 1859; d. May 23, 1875. 

665. Hester ; m. John Smith. 

666. Anderson ; m. Ann McDonald. 
JOSEPH (663). 

667. Annie. 

668. Fernando. 

669. Catherine. 
BENJAMIN (664). 

670. Benjamin Franklin (676), Aug. 7, 1863; m. 

Lavinia Hughes, Paterson, N. J. 

671. George Washington (678), Feb. 22, 1865; m. 

Albertina Braeger; now Athenia. 

672. Joseph, Aug. 14, 1867; m. Elizabeth Trilby. 

673. Anna, May 3, 1870; m. George Boice, Hacken- 

sack. 

674. Mary, Feb. 14, 1873 ; m. Charles Hillman ; now 

California. 

675. Amy B., Feb. 24, 1880; m. Albert Precious. 
BENJAMIN F. (670). 

djd. Agnes. July 8, 1900. 
6yy. Benjamin, May 8, 1906. 
GEORGE W. (671). 

678. Bertha, Sept. 28, 1893. 

679. Ida May, March 27, 1897. 



700. PETER (701), Pompton Plains; father of: 

701. Ann; m. Peter Hopper; Stony Brook. 

702. Henry (722), Oct. 9, 1799; m. Elizabeth \'an 

Ness. 

703. William, March 6, 1804; m. Mary T. Reynolds; 

died Oct. 9, 1863. 
703a. Daughter m. Silas Monroe; died 1882; b. about 
1800. 



241 

WILLIAM (703). 

704. Orrin Swift (707), July 3, 1838; m. Sarah C 

Hopper, Sept. 10, 1862; died March 28, 1874. 

705. WilHam H. (713), Aug. 10, 1840; m. Anna T. 

Haggerty; died March, 1907. 

706. James Morton, Feb. 14, 1844; "^- Mary Ross- 

back. 

ORRIN S. (704). 

707. George Franklyn (709), Sept. 9, 1866; m. Ida 

May Ronsaville, of Washington, D. C, June 
14, 1893. 

708. Henry B., Dec. 27, 1872; m. 

GEORGE F. (707). 

709. Donald Ronsaville, Dec. 9, 1894. 

710. Carroll Irving, Feb. 7, 1897. 

711. Paul Ford, April 7, 1902. 

712. Isabel, May 19, 1906. 

WILLIAM H. (705). 

713. Ida M. ; m. Henry Martin. 

714. William E. (716) ; m. Louisa Parker. 

WILLIAM E. (714). 

716. George F. 

717. William E. 

718. Mabel L. 

719. Richard. 

JAMES M. (706). 

720. Henry M., Chicago. 

721. Nellie; m. Frank Smith, New York. 

HENRY (702). 

722. Jacob (730), June 3, 1828; m. Elizabeth Cole- 

man; Sussex County. 



242 

^2.}^. Sarah, Nov. 16, 1829; m. Thomas Whitesell; 
died 1850; have son Irving', Nov. 12, 1849. 

724. Garret, Aug. 16, 183 1 ; died June 8, 1889. 

725. William (734), July 16, 1833; m. Eliza Cum- 

mings; died 1893. 

726. Peter, March 22, 1836; m. Ruth Burroughs; 

Brighton, Michigan. 

727. Henry, July 20, 1838; died 1892; Morris Co. 

728. Anna Louise, Jan. 16, 1842; died 1846, 

729. John Hyndman, Nov. 25, 1846; m. Susan M. 

Royce. 

JACOB {722). 

730. Mary. 

731. Isabelle. 

732. Lydia. 

733. Berema. 

WILLIAM (725). 

734. Henry. 

735. Molly. 

736. David M. 
yi^y. Laura. 
738. Dora. 



243 

BERGEN COUNTY. 

8oi. Jacob Elias {^JJ); born about 1730; died 1803; 
father of 

802. Elias Jacob; born 1760; died May 30, 1839; 

father of 

803. Adrian EHas (807) ; born 1789; m. Anna Haring 

of Tappan ; died 1814; served in war of 1812. 

804. EHzabeth ; m. PhiHp Van Bussum, of Slaughter- 

dam. 

805. Amy ; m. Edo Vreeland, of Wesel. 

806. Gitty; m. Jacob G. Hopper, of Paramus. 

ADRIAN E. (803). 

807. Rev. Abraham H. (809) ; m. Jane W. Van Riper 
of Acquackanonck ; preached in the Free Re- 
formed Church of Glen, N. Y. 

808. Elias Adrian (824) ; m., first, Jane Van Houten; 

second, Rachel Van Orden, of Wyckofif. 

ABAHAM H. (807). 

809. John A. ; m. Sarah Lowe, of New York. 

810. Petrina A.; m. Horatio C. N. Johnson. 

811. Walling Van Winkle (832) ; m. Mary J. Tolles. • 

812. Cornelius G. (858) ; m. Eliza Loveless. 

813. Adrian. 

814. Elias A. (840) ; m. Malvina F. S. Tolles. 

815. Elizabeth; died young. 

816. Emma L. ; m. George Breese. 

817. Clarence. 

818. Henry E. (862) ; m., first Clara Foster; second, 

Minnie Smith. 

819. M. Elizabeth ; m. William Sayre. 

820. Eliza Mary ; died young. 

821. Herbert H. (846) ; m. Caroline A. Reed. 



' 



244 

822. Ada M. ; in. Wilson Kent. 

823. Clarence ; died young. 
ELI AS A. (808). 

824. Adrian E. (868) ; m. Sarah Vreeland. 

825. William H. (873) ; m. Margaret Stager. 

826. Cornelius ; m. Kate Hayes. 

827. Abram H. (876) ; m. Mary. 

828. John. 

829. Aletta Jane ; m. Thomas Cadmus. 

830. Edwin. 

831. James H. (878); m., first, Ella Neal ; second, 

Martha E. Blackmore. 
WALLING V. W. (811). 

832. Belle L. ; m. Edward F. Scott. 

833. Rose T. ; m. James P. Clements. 

834. Cornelia S. ; m. John M. Moore. 

835. Lilly; died young. 

836. Harry L. T. (859) ; m. Augusta C. Gale. 

837. Joseph C. (854) ; m. Katherine Douglas. 

838. Frank ; died young. 

839. Mamie ; died young. 

ELIAS (814). 

840. William A. B. (845) ; m. Belle Stroh. 
840a. May M. 

841. Florence; died young. .» 

842. Estelle ; died young. 

843. Frank P. 

844. Jennie L. 
WILLIAM (840). 

845. Herbert H. 
HERBERT H. (821). 

846. Herbert H. 

847. Marjorie. 

848. Richard S. 



245 

849- James F. 

850. Thomas R. 

HARRY (836). 

851. Marjorie C. 

852. Dorothy. 

853. Robert. 

JOSEPH C. (837). 

854. Walling Douglass. 

855. Mildred. 

856. Katherine. 

857. Monroe ; died in infancy. 

CORNELIUS (812). 

858. Abraham H. 

859. Luther C. 

860. Frank C. 

861. May. 

HENRY (818). 

862. Helen. 

863. Edna. 

864. Grace. 

865. Caroline. 

866. Edward Francis. 

ADRL\N E. (824). 

868. Jane ; m. Arthur Haslam. 

869. Lida ; m. George Crabtree. 

870. William H. ; m. Elizabeth Mills. 

871. Margaret; m. Fisk Halliday. 

872. Albert ; died young. 

WILLIAM H. (825). 

873. Eva ; m. Frank Blauvelt. 

874. William R. (875) ; m. Elizabeth Purcell. 



246 

WILLIAM R. (874). 

875. William R. 

ABRAM H. (827). 

876. Florence; m. William E. Blewitl. 

877. Clifford. 

JAMES H. (831). 

878. Harriet; m. Dr. J. E. Tyler. . 

879. Margaret. 

880. Aletta. 

881. Albert L. 




Dutch Reformed Church, 
English Neighborhood, 



Cornelius Vreeland (93) 
Homestead. 



247 



900. 


Hartman ; father of 


901. 


Hartnian ; father of 


go2. 


Hartman (909), July 4, 1785; m. Theodocy 




Snyder. 


903- 


Michael. 


904. 


Cornelius (911) ; m. Elizabeth Vreeland; Dec. 25, 




1774- 


905- 


Elias. 


906. 


Catherine. 


907. 


Sarah. 


908. 


Leah. 




HARTMAN (902). 


909. 


Hartman. 


910. 


Charity ; m. Albert \'an Houten ; had son Albert. 



CORNELIUS (904). 

911. John C. (917). June 7, 1779; m. Sophronia Van 

lilarcom, Dec. 25, 1803 ; d. July 2, 1840. 

912. Cornelius L (921) ; m. Ellen Van Blarcom. 

913. Mary ; m. Cornelius Doremus. 

914. Michael (926), Jan. 31, 1789; m. Adelia Snyder. 

915. Jacob (930), Feb. 17, 1795; m. Gertrude Devoe. 

916. Hartman, July 4, 1785. 

JOHN C. (911). 

917. Cornelius J., Oct. 5, 1804; m., first, Elizabeth 

Simmons ; second, Maria Taylor ; died Feb. 4, 
1866. 

918. John L (931), June 2, 181 1; m. Matilda Stagg; 

died Nov. 28, 1874. 

919. Elizabeth, Dec. 20, 1808; died Jan. 30, 1877; m. 

Cornelius A. Post. 

920. Nicholas (938), July 2, 1814; m. Ellen Masker; 

died April 3, 1873. 



248 

CORNELIUS I. (912). 

921. Cornelius, Aug. 6, 1812; m. Alice Christopher. 

922. Nicholas, Aug. 17, 1817; m. Eliza Masker, Nov. 

20, 1837; died May 9, 1885. 

923. Mary, 1823 ; m. William Jackson. 

924. Catherine ; born 1825 ; m. William Mackrel. 

925. Ellen, Oct. 4, 1828; m. Nicholas Folley. 

MICHAEL (914). 

926. Cornelius (947), March 4, 1813; m. Rachel 

Beach; died July 6, 1890. 

927. Andrew (954), May 21, 1815; m. Phebe A. Ste- 

phens, 1836; died April 21, 1901. 

928. Elizabeth, May 5, 1820; m. Andrew Derrom, 

May 22, 1842; died Feb., 1883. 

929. Jeremiah, July 13, 1829; died Feb. 12, 1851. 

JACOB (915). 

930. Cornelius (960) ; b. Aug. 8, 1817; m. Sarah Ann 

Redner; died Aug. i, 1878. 

931. Catherine Jane; b. July 10, 1823. 

932. Jacob, July 15, 1825. 

933. David, Aug. 19, 1827. 

934. Marie, Aug. 26, 1829. 

JOHN I. (918). 

935. Ira, Dec. 3, 1843; "^li^d Feb. i, 1866. 

936. Sophronia ; born May 18, 1845; ""•• Henry J. 

Garrison, June 18, 1863. 

937. Abraham; born Dec. 31, 1847; died 1867. 

938. Nicholas (963), April 15, 1849; m. Ida Hill. 

939. Cornelius (965); born Nov. 9, 1853; m. Mary 

Knight. 

940. John P., Dec. 31, 1861 ; Regular Army, First 

Artillery ; died in the Spanish War, 1898. 

941. Caroline; born Dec. 11. 1863. 



I 



249 

NICHOLAS (920). 

942. Mary Elizabeth, July 12, 1840; died Feb. 20, 1881. 

CORNELIUS (921). 

943. Jacob Henry (967), March 2, 1839; m. Harriet 

L. Vanderbilt. 

944. Ellen Jane, Sept. i, 1845; i''"'- Charles Tompson; 

died Jan. 12, 1890. 



945 
946 

947 
948 

949 
950 



NICHOLAS (922). 

Cornelius (969), June 2, 1839; m. Emma Debow, 
Nov. 13, 1867; died Oct. 3, 1902. 

John (973), July 10, 1841 ; m. Ann Halstead, 
May 19, 1872. 

Mary Ann, Nov. 8, 1843 ! "i- John W. Huyler, 
Oct. 9, 1870. 

WilUam N. (976), May 8, 1846; m. Maria Bolton, 
June 14, 1874; died July 4, 1809. 

Ellen Jane, April 25, 185 1 ; m. George Birley, 
Oct. 9, 1870. 

Jacob L. (981), July 18, 1857; "''■ Ellen Pater- 
son. 



CORNELIUS D. (926). 

951. Jonathan Beach, Oct. 22, 1837; died Nov. 22, 

' 1853- 

952. Josiah Pierson (983), Jan. 24, 1841 ; m. Marga- 

retta Cruikshank ; died July 19, 1895. 

953. Maria Mottear, July 27, 1842; died 1844. 

954. Elizabeth Derrom, March 27, 1846; m. Joseph 

P. Gould, March 22, 1882. 

955. Adelia, April 14, 1850; died 1893. 

956. Cornelius, April 12, 1852; died 1854. 

957. J. Beach, April 7, 1855 ; m. Emma Garrison. 



250 

ANDREW (927). 

958. Andrew D. (987), March 7, 1843; i"- Sarah J. 

Miller. 

959. Adelia, May 22, 1845 ! "i- R^^- James H. Robert- 

son, Nov. 3, 1864. 

CORNELIUS (930). 

960. Catherine; born 1838; m. Harvey Byea; died 

Oct. 7, 1907. 

961. Jane; born 1840; m. Levi Smith. 

962. Sarah; born 1850; m. Thomas Edson. 

NICHOLAS (938). 

963. Francis, April 11, 1898. 

964. Viola, Feb. 5, 1904. 

CORNELIUS (935). 

965. Frank, April 16, 1881. 

966. Matilda, Aug. 28, 1878; Anna, Nov. 22, 1879. 

JACOB HENRY (943). 

967. Ada, Jan. 22, 1862. 

968. Cornelius, July 6, 1864. 

CORNELIUS (945). 

969. John Debow, July 16, 1872 ; m. Smith. 

970. Armenia, July 16. 1874; m. Thomas Aiken. 

971. Nicholas, Nov. 30, 1877; died Dec. 2, 1886. 

972. George R., Feb. 14, 1880. 

JOHN (946). 

973. Althea, Oct. 15, 1873. 

974. Marcell, Sept. 22, 1875 ; m. Jennie Ferdon. 

975. Idell, Aug. 28, 1892. 

WILLIAM N. (914). 

976. John Huyler, Oct. 26, 1874; m. Jennie Anderson. 

977. William N., Dec. 18, 1885. 

978. Francis, Nov. 2, 1887. 



II 



251 

979- Catherine, Sept. 3, 1876 ; m. Lewis Labaw. 

980. Martha C, July 4, 1883. 

JACOB L. (950). 

981. J. Edward, Sept. 7, 1895. 

982. EHzabeth ; born 1903. 

JOSIAH (952). 

983. Cornelius D. (987), July 17, 1868; m. Edith S. 

Higgins ; Upper Montclair. 

J. BEACH (957)- 

984. Louis, July 19, 1884. 

985. Harold V. P., March 21, 1890. 

986. Donald Garrison, Feb. 28, 1895. 

ANDREW D. (958). 

987. Adda AL, Feb. 20, 1865. 

988. Maggie, July 10, 1872. 

989. Frank (994), July 2, 1874; m. Jessie D. Gilmore. 

990. Amy, Sept. 12, 1877. 

CORNELIUS D. (983). 

991. Cornelius Delos, June 24, 1893. 

992. Josiah Pierson, Aug. 31, 1898. 

993. Roger Secor, July 12, 1907. 

FRANK (989). 

994. Eleanor G., Feb. 15, 1901. 



ILLINOIS. 

CORNELIUS (280). 
1000. Tennis Van Pelt (1007), Oct. 4, 1841 ; m. Mary 
Wray ; enlisted Co. H, nth Illinois Cavalry, 
served four years, promoted to second lieuten- 
ant ; now lives in Wichita, Kansas. 



252 

looi. Michael Van Tuyl (1012), March 22, 1844; m. 
Martha C. Jones; enhsted nth Cavalry, served 
four years ; now in Oskaloosa, Iowa. 

1002. David B. (1015), June 8, 1849; ni. Celia Wray; 

now Haysville, Kansas. 

1003. Jacob T. (1017), Aug. i, 1850; m. Jane Daugh- 

man ; Haysville, Kan. 

1004. John Housman (1019), May 7, 1853; m. Ida 

Lanphere ; now in Wichita Falls, Texas. 

1005. Clara ; born 1855 ; now lives Denver, Col. 

1006. Grant B. ; born 1862 ; died 1893. 

1007. Frank (1020), April, 1867; m. Lily Olvie; now in 

Ames, Oklahoma. 
TEUNIS (1000). 

1008. Alice, Nov. i, 1871; m. William E. Tomlin; now 

Conway Springs, Kansas. 

1009. Abbie, Sept. 24, 1874; m. William B. Crawford; 

lives Wichita, Kansas. 
loio. Teunis, Dec. 25, 1875; m. Anna Lee; now Peoria, 

Illinois. 
ion. Anna, Oct. 19, 1876; m. Lee A. Berley; now 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 

1012. Elizabeth M., Aug. 2, 1882; m. Merrill E. Gates; 

Wichita, Kansas. 
MICHAEL V. T. (looi). 

1013. Howard J., Oct. 10, 1872; died 1879. 

1014. Edgar J., Oct. 17, 1876. 

1015. Mae B., June 9, 1881. 
DAVID B. (1002). 

1016. Iva, Oct. 30, 1878; m. Harry Bearth. 

1017. Winona, March 8, 1881. 
JACOB T. (1003). 

1018. Frederick E. (1024), Sept. 7, 1876; m. Nettie 

Burart. 



i 



253 

1019. Orthe C, June 3. 1889. 
JOHN H. (1004). 

1020. Francis W., March 10, 1879; m. Marion Hast- 

ings Smalley; now New York City. 

FRANK (1007). 

102 1. Ray, April, 1888. 

1022. Nellie. 

1023. Fannie. 

FREDERICK E. (1018). 

1024. Cornelius, July 7, 1901. 

1025. Lytha, Feb. 5, 1904. 



MACOPIN. 



Jacob (54) settled in Second River, now Belle- 
ville, and in 1825 joined with five others 
in purchasing land for the Reformed Dutch 
church; in conjunction with his cousin, Garret, 
he purchased from two Indians, Motorwas and 
Amichos, in 1753, a tract of land at Mackepin ; 
Garret assigned his share to Jacob, and the 
latter received a patent from the Lords Pro- 
prietors, of East Jersey, for two hundred acres, 
at fifty cents an acre, and gave it to his son 
John, who settled on it, and founded the 
Macopin family. 

1 100. John; m., first, Mary Kidney; second, Catherine 
Witte ; his children were : 

iioi. James (1154), June 16, 1766. 

1 102. Helen ; m. Ryerson. 

1 103. Mary ; m. Provost. 

1 104. Henry John (1109), Feb. 15, 1803; m. Jane Eck- 

hardt; died ic 

1 105. William (1122), 



254 

io6. Elizabeth. 

107. Catherine. 

108. Eleanor. 
HENRY JOHN (1104). 

109. George, April 8, 1823; died 1823. 
no. Jacob, Jan. 31, 1825. 

111. Catherine, Jan. 31, 1825. 

112. John (1181), Aug. 10, 1827. 

113. Richard, Sept. 27, 1829. 

:ii4. Sarah, March 31, 1837; died 1837. 

:ii5. Joseph (1185), July 4, 1834; died 1904. 

116. James, Aug. 31, 1836. 

117. Daniel W., Nov. 16, 1839; died 1876. 

118. David (1192), July 4, 1842; died 1892. 

119. Rev. Peter S. (1182), April 10, 1846; died 1893. 

120. Charles Wesley (1197), ]\Iarch 14, 1849; m. Eliz- 
abeth Freeland. 

121. Ira, Jan. 18, 1852; died 1875. 

WILLIAM (1 105). 

122. Elizabeth; m. James Carey. 

123. Julia A. ; m. John Vreeland. 

124. Jane; m. Richard Rhinesmith. 

125. Harriet; m. Henry Fredericks. 

126. Peter D. (1134) ; m. Electa DeMont. 

127. Sarah; m. Augustus Blanchard. 

128. Esther; m. William Matthew. 

129. David (1140); m. Harriet Stewart. 

130. James H. (1144) ; m. Mary Filmore. 

131. Eleanor; m. Reynolds Stewart. 

132. John ]\Iilton (1149) ; m. Mary E. Cahill. 

133. Maria; m. Albert Rhinesmith. 

PETER D. (1126). 

134. Theodore; m. Lydia Sisco. 

135. Lydia; m. Thomas Gould. 



255 

:i36. John; m. Maria Jennings. 

137. Effie; m. Vanderbeck. 

138. Frederick; m. Ada Winters. 

139. Bertha; m. Jacob Delasiur. 

DAVID (1 129). 

140. Harriet; m. William Dayton. 

141. James. 

142. Willis. 

143. Elmer. 

JAMES H. (1130). 

144. Clara. 

145. William. 

146. Ida. 

147. Eleanor. 

148. George. 

JOHNM. (1132). 

149. Melissa; m. Charles H. Rhinesmith. 

150. Walter (1152) ; m. Harriet Bernard. 

151. Lottie; m. Vernon Rhineswith. 

WALTER (1 150). 

152. Harold. 
:i53. Mildred. 

JAMES (iioi). 

154. John B. (1157), Feb. 5, 1792'; m. Elizabeth Coo- 
ley; died 1867. 

155. Conrad (1162) ; m. Margaret Banta. 

156. Mary; m. James Tichenor. 

JOHN (II54)- 

157. George Washington (1170), Feb. 22, 1820; m. 
Sarah M. Smith ; Morristown. 

158. Sarah Jane; m. James M. Newkirk. 

159. Isaac. 



256 

:i6o. Mary; m. Garret Freeland (1173). 
:i6i. Adeline. 

CONRAD (1155). 

162. James C. (1176) ; m. Margaret Bamper. 

163. Jacob. 

164. John B. 

165. Thomas B. 

166. Samuel (ii78);m. 

167. Conrad; m. Carolyn Hoag. 

168. Jane; m. Silas Decker. 
:i6g. Ann; m. Thomas Decker. 

GEORGE W. (1 157). 

170. John B. (1184), Dec. 30, 1852; m., first, Ida Pe- 

trowski; second, Ida K. Smith. 

171. Isaac S. (1182) ; m. Catherine Lockwood. 

172. Mary Elizabeth; m. James O. Halsey. 

GARRET FREELAND (1160). 

173. Alice. 
:i74. Ernest. 

175. DeMott. 
JAMES (1162). 

176. Martha; m. David Beam. 

177. Mary E. ; m. Gaston Drew. 

SAMUEL (1 166). 

178. Rose. 

179. Maud. 

180. Anna. 
JOHN (1112). 

181. Mary; m. George White. 

ISAAC (1 171). 

182. Mabel. 

183. John. 



257 





JOHN (1 170). 


1 184. 


Ada. 


1184a. 


Vera E. 




JOSEPH (1115). 


II85. 


Martha; m. Horace Mabee. 


1 186. 


Mary; m. William Coburn. 


1 187. 


George. 


1 188. 


Harriet ; m. Raymond Green. 


1 189. 


Ada. 


1 190. 


Elizabeth. 


II9I. 


James. . 




DAVID (1118). 


1 192. 


Frederick ; m. Margaret Vance. 


II93- 


George, rty. jE/aaS^<:vjenS 


1 194. 


Josephine. 




PETER (1119). 


II95- 


Minnie. 


1 196. 


Henry Judson. 




CHARLES W. (1 120). 


1 197. 


Arthur R. (1199) ; m. Minnie Drew 


1197a. 


Emma Relda. 




ARTHUR R. (1 197). 


1 198. 


Mary Elizabeth. 


1 199. 


Charles Roger. 



BERGEN COUNTY. 

I20I. Edo, son of Enoch; m., first, Annatje Vreeland, 
daughter of Elqas, Jan. 29, 1807; second, Jen- 
nie Garrison, Nov. 24, 1816; third, Jane Blau- 
velt, March 12, 1831. 
Edo was father of: 



258 

1202. Enoch (1211), Oct. 6, 1807; m. Matilda Bogert, 

Dec. 31, 1829; d. June 21, 1849. 

1203. Margaret, Aug. 4, 1809; m. Cadmus. 

1204. Elias (1219), July 2, 181 1 ; m. Ann Terhune. 

1205. George E. (1223), Sept. 10, 1813; m. Ann Year- 

ance; d. May 13, 1891. 

1206. Jane; m. Nicholas Van Winkle. 

1207. Catherine; m. Cornelius Van Houten. 

1208. Christiana. 

1209. Edo ; m. Jennie Bogert. 

1210. Corneha E. 

ENOCH (1202). 

Abraham, May 27, 1826. 
Martha, Sept. 28, 1827. 
Margaret, Nov. 28, 1829. 

1211. Edgar (1236), April 30, 1833; m. Rachel Ann 

Westervelt, Oct. 28, 1858. 

1212. Rachel A., May 13, 1838; m. Richard Paulison, 

Feb. 9, 1859; died July 2, 1908; her daughter is 
now Mrs. Luther A. Campbell, Hackensack, 
N.J. 

1213. Peter B, (1241), July 5, 1835; m. Jane Ann 

Demarest, Feb. 8, 1859; d. Feb. 2, 1902. 

1214. Margaretta, April 4. 1840. 

1215. Mary Matilda, Nov. 23, 1842; m. Peter Bogert, 

Oct. 23, 1867. 

1216. Enoch (1243), Oct. 24, 1844; m. Ellen Bogert; 

Dec. 2, 1869. 

1217. Catherine J., Nov. 20, 1847. 

1218. John. 

ELIAS (1204). 

1219. Edo; m. Jane Hopper. 

1220. Albert; m. Lydecker. 



259 

1 22 1. Adam. 

1222. Elias. 

GEORGE (1205). 

1223. Edgar, Oct. 22, 1835 ; m. Mary Hill ; died Jan. 2, 

1892. 

1224. Charity, April 14, 1837; m. Abram Cadmus. 

1225. Henry G. (1230), July 16, 1839; m. Helen Van 

Riper. 

1226. Jane, March 31, 1844; m. Adrian Van Houten. 

1227. Cornelius (1234), Oct. 3, 1845; m. Sarah C. Van 

Riper; d. July 5, 1894. 

1228. Ann Maria, Feb. 17, 1848; m. Jacob Cadmus, 

1229. Eliza, Jan. 13, 1853; m. Albert Doremus; d. Jan. 

18, 1905. 

HENRY (1225), 

1230. Harry G. 

123 1. Helen, 

1232. Adrianna. 

1233. Ada. 

CORNELIUS (1227). 

1234. Annie, Nov. 23, 1870; m. William Vreeland. 

1235. John, Sept. 14, 1876; m. Mabel Haslam, 

EDGAR E. (1211), 

1236. Enos, Aug, 16, 1859; m. Mary E, Denholm; 

Jan, 8, 1884, 

1237. Garret Westervelt (1245), Nov. 21, i860; m. 

Louisa H. Thornton, Oct. 25, 1893. 

1238. Edgar (1246), Nov, 4, 1871 ; m, Mary C. Benagh, 

Nov, 4, 1906; Memphis, Tenn. 

1239. Matilda. 

1240. Walter. 



26o 

PETER B. (1213). 

1241. Margaretta. 

1242. Catherine; m. Edward W. Piilis. 

ENOCH (1216). 

1243. Arthur B., Sept. 18, 1875 5 "i- Edith Shaw. 

1244. Elizabeth, Jan. 29, 1880; m. Henry Schmiecke, 

June I, 1907. 

GARRET W. (1237). 

1245. Ida May, Aug. 18, 1894. 

EDGAR (1238). 

1246. Josephine. 



1300. David, or Aaron, son of Aaron, son of Abraham 

(38); lived Westfield ; m. Stanbury; his chil- 
dren : 

1301. David, born about 1795 or 1800, moved to Penn- 

sylvania, and changed his name from Vreeland 
to Freeland. 

1302. Nathan, copied David's example, 

1303. Jesse (1308) ; m. Locky Brant. 

1304. Aaron (1335), May 4, 1800; m. Jane B. Steven- 

son; served in War of 1812. 

1305. Betsey Lydia; m. Solomon Williams. 

1306. Abram. 

1307. Ann. 

JESSE (1303). 

1308. Mary Jane; m. Van Syckle. 

1309. Phebe; m. Francis Sayre. 

1310. William M. 

1311. Jesse Kimble (1226), Oct. 15, 1835; m. Emma 

Julia Meyer; died July 23, 1900; he was named 
after a distinguished Revolutionary officer. 



26l 

13 12. Edward; Delavan, Illinois. 

1313. Clarence; m. Sarah Clements. 

1314. Aaron; North Long Branch, N. J. 

1315. Henrietta; m. David Bonnell ; their children 

Warren, dead ; Jesse Vreeland Bonnell ; 



Deland ; Anna, m. C. R. Myers, of Elizabeth. 

DAVID (1301). 

1316. William; m. Rebecca Farrand. 

1317. Albert G. ; m. Margaret Buckhard. 

1318. Thomas M. ; m. Mary Mapes. 

1319. Rev. Daniel Niles, 1825; m. Mary E. Borweld. 

1320. Anna E. ; m. Eugene Claghorn, of Philadelphia. 

1 32 1. Theodore H. ; m. Carrie Griffith. 

1322. James S. ; m. Fanny Trego. 

DANIEL (1319). 

1323. Alice N. ; m. Carlos Merry. 

1324. Anna E. ; m. Walter Thompson. 

1325. Hannah; m. Henry I. Miller. 

JESSE K. (1311). 

1326. Jennie Louise, May 3, 1869; m. James A. 

Knowles ; their son, Sheridan A. Knov^^les, April 
8, 1898. 

1327. Emma Florence, March 9, 1873; died 1878. 

1328. Henrietta May, May 3, 1875; died 1878. 

1329. Rachel, June 25, 1878; died 1878. 

1330. Jesse Kimble, Dec. 4, 1879; died 1898. 

1331. Frederick Lewis, Jan. 24, 1881. 

1332. Chester Myer, Nov. 13, 1883; died 1906. 

1333. Clarence Edward, May 19, 1885. 

1334. Edna Charlotte, June 19, 1888. 

AARON (1304) 

1335. Aaron ( 1336). July i, 1831 ; m. Caroline C. Leeds. 

AARON (1335). 

1336. Walter; Michigan City, Indiana. 

1337. Frank; Michigan City, Indiana. 



262 

GRAVESTONE INSCRIPTION IN ELIZABETH PRESBY- 
TERIAN GRAVEYARD. 

Who Knew Him living, must lament him dead ; 
Whose Corpse beneath this verdant turf is laid ; 
Bonnell in Private life, in public trust 
Was Wise and Kind, was Generous and Just. 
In Virtue's rigid path unmoved he trod; 
To self Impartial, Pious to his God ; 
Religion's Patron, and a Patrion True ; 
A General Good and Private Blessing too ; 
What Bonnell, was, and what His Virtues were ; 
The Resurrection will best Declare. 

JOSEPH BONNELL, Esq., died March 14, 1747; in 
the 63d year of his age. 



Enoch (38), father of: 
Abraham, father of : 
James, father of: 

1400. James (1401); m. Susanna Clark, daughter of 

Robert Clark, a relative of Abraham Clark, a 
signer of the Declaration of Independence. 

His sister m. Kelsey. 

His sister m. Solomon Williams. 

His sister m. Hendricks. 

REED 

Their son, Vreeland Hendricks. 

His daughter m. John C. Denman, of Newark. 

JAMES (1400). 

1401. Abraham, unmarried. 

1402. Robert Clark (1408), Oct. 7, 1790; m. Ann Wil- 

liams; died Jan. 31, 1839. 

1403. James (1414), Dec. 19, 1794; m. Elizabeth Wil- 

liams ; died November, 1862. 



263 

1404. John M.; m. Jane Miller; no children. 

1405. Amos; m. Julia Britten; no chilren. 

1406. William B. ; m. Susan Marsh. 

1407. Elizabeth ; died young. 

ROBERT (1402). 

1408. Jonas; m. Johanna Barnett; moved to Mobile, 

Alabama. 

1409. James W., Dec. 12, 1819. 

1410. Robert Tecumseh, March 2, 1822; m. Isabella 

Nish; died August, 1866. 

141 1. Elizabeth, March 26. 1824; died Nov. 23, 1826. 

1412. James Alonzo, Nov. 2, 1826; m. Dunham; 

died January, 1905. 

1413. Job Noe (1417), Nov. 13, 1830; m. Harriet Ames 

Jones ; died March 23, 1904. 

JAMES (1403). 

1414. Sarah Jane, Nov. 3, 1827; m. Washington H. 

Craig, of Rahway ; their children : Stewart C, 
George W., Bayard W., and Cornelia. 

1415. Elias Williams (1431), March 22. 1829; m. Sarah 

L. Scudder. 

1416. Elizabeth, Nov. 4, 1844; m. William D. Wood, 

of Cranford ; their children : Frederick W. 
Wood, Ethel L. Wood. 

JOB NOE (1413). 

1417. Jacob Clark (1421), May 10, 1864; m. Clara D. 

Lawrence. 

1418. Ann Elizabeth, Aug. 20, 1865; died Jan. 3, 1871. 

1419. Hattie Anna, Dec. 28, 1866. 

1420. George Randolph, April 4, 1868. 

JACOB CLARK (1417)- 

142 1. Jacob Clark, Aug. , 188 ; died April , 188 . 

1422. Clara Isabella. April i, 188 . 



264 

1423. Tecumseh Sherman, Dec. 18, 1890. 

1424. Anna Elizabeth, 189 . 

1425. Alonzo Milton, 189 . 

1426. Job Edward. 

ROBERT T. (1410). 

1427. Annabella. 

1428. James. 

1429. Henry. 

1430. Clark. 

ELIAS W. (1415). 

1431. Mary M., Oct. 15, 1861. 

1432. Emily M., April 25, 1863. 

1433. Kate, March 4, 1868; m. William M. Higby; 

their son, William Scudder Higby, Jan. 31, 
1898. 

WILLIAM B. (1406). 

1434. Elizabeth; m. Shotwell. 

1435. Mary J. ; m. Daniel Seward. 

1436. John J. ; m., first, Hand ; second, Barnett, 

1437. Theodore ; m. Kate Sanderson. 



PASSAIC COUNTY. 

JOHANNIS (43), father of: 

1500. Garret, born 1759; m. Rachel Moore, May 22,. 

1791 ; died Dec. 22, 1845; his children were: 

1501. Catherine, May 5, 1795; m. John Dougherty, 

June 10, 1815; died Feb. 13, 1847. 

1502. Isaac (1506), Sept. 20, 1797; m. Margaret Mas- 

ter; died March 17, 1878. 

1503. Abraham (1511), Sept. 16, 1801 ; m. Lydia Vree- 

land (1572), Aug. 7, 1824; died March 26, 1881. 

1504. Elias (1517), March 18. 1809; m. Catherine 

Yorke, Feb. 16. 1830; died 1849. 



265 

1505. Sarah, Sept. i, 1814; m. Peter Hanory; d. June 

II, 1848. 

ISAAC (1502). 

1506. Garret, Feb. 22, 1824; died 1903. 

1507. Elias (1523), Jan. 22, 1827; m. Martha Bogert, 

Aug. 3, 1850; d. Feb. 24, 1896. 

1508. Rachel, Aug. 15, 1832; died Aug. 31, 1904. 

1509. Mary, May 2, 1835; died Sept., 1889. 

1510. Sarah, April 15, 1836; died March 28, 1898. 

ABRAHAM G. (1503). 

151 1. Elias A. (1524), Dec. 21, 1828; m. Charity Pat- 



1512 

1513 
1514 

1515 
1516 



terson, June 15, 1850; d. Aug. 18, i< 

Rachel, May 5, 1833; m. Merseles Post, July 4, 
1853 ; d. Dec. 22, 1894. 

John A. (1527), July 19, 1835; m. Sarah Wil- 
son, June 12, 1864; d. Sept. 27, 1892. 

Catherine, May 24, 1837 ; m. Josiah Patterson, 
Dec. 26, 1857 ; d. Jan. 20, 1897. 

Garret (1528), Oct. 25, 1841 ; m. Matilda Drew, 
June 26, 1864; d. Dec. 11, 1895. 

Sarah, March 22, 1844; m. Jeremiah Stanley, 
June 12, 1864. 



ELIAS (1504). 

1517. John E. (1532), July 11, 1831 ; m. Ann Louise 

Post, July 4, 1853- 

1518. Mary Catherine, April 6, 1833 ; died July 15, 1849. 

1519. Dayton (1534), July 10, 1835; m. Susan Sisco, 

Feb. 16, 1856. 

1520. Rachel, April 5, 1837; m. Jeremiah Kesler; died 

Jan. 30, 1907. 

1521. Elias (1541), March 30, 1840; m. Lizzie C. Bog- 

ert, Oct. 22, 1863; d. Nov. I, 1895. 



266 

1522. Abraham (1547), Sept. 10. 1843; i"^^- Emma 

Jackson, May 16, 1864. 

ELIAS (1507). 

1523. Matilda, March 3, 1862; m. Horace Walsh, June 

14, 1879. 

ELIAS (1511). 

1524. William, Feb. 18, 1853; died Aug. 7, 1891. 

1525. Elmer 3, July 4, i860; died Sept. 16, 1879. 

1526. Charles (1548), July 29, 1865; m. Mary Voorhis, 

April 10, 1887. 

JOHN (1513). 

1527. Elizabeth, Nov. 6, 1867; m. John Miller, Nov. 2, 

1889. 

GARRET (1515). 

1528. Ella, April 5, 1865; m. Martin A. Vega, Nov. 15, 

1883. 

1529. Frank, July 13, 1866. 

1530. Frederick, April 12, 1874; m. Anna Tape. 

1 53 1. John, March 20, 1879; died Sept. 22, 1906. 

JOHN (1517). 

1532. Nehemiah (1550), Feb. 7, 1856; m. Louisa Klein, 

June 13, 1883. 

1533. Minanett, Feb. 21, 1858; died Jan. 12, 1863. 

DAYTON (1519). 

1534. Lavinia, Sept. i, 1858; m. Alfred G. Hopper. 

1535. Ida, May 19, i860; m. Charles McGinnis, June 

18, 1894; died March 31, 1906. 

1536. Eugene Lyons (1551), March 31, 1862; m. Min- 

nie Cocker, Sept. 20, 1882. 

1537. Emma, Oct. 24, 1863; m. George Ackerman, May 

16, 1883. 



267 

1538. John Elias (1554), July 8, 1867; m. Alice Van 

Or den, June 26, 1886. 

1539. Robert Peach (1555), July 5. 1873; m. Emma 

Hewitt, June 30, 1897. 

1540. Frank Haviland, Jan. 24, 1877; m. Edith Pursell, 

July 25, 1905. 
ELIAS (1521). 

1541. David, Feb. 12, 1866; m. Elizabeth Peak, Sept, 

4, 1886; died Oct. 29, 1908. 

1542. Anna Louise, Nov. 15, 1868; m. William Harri- 

son. 

1543. Elizabeth, May 16, 1870; m. Emil Hulser; died 

June 18, 1906. 

1544. Elias (1556), April 18, 1876; m. Elizabeth J. 

Peterson, Dec. 12, 1896. 

1545. Ralph, Oct. 10, 1878; died Oct. 15, 1901. 

1546. Matilda, Dec. 18, 1881 ; m. Frank Bibby. 

ABRAHAM (1522). 

1547. Jenette, Nov. 10, 1886; m. Alexander Dunlop, 

June 18, 1859. 

CHARLES (1526). 

1548. Charles J., March 2, 1888. 

1549. Roy Demarest, Aug. 4, 1890. 

NEHEMIAH (1532). 

1550. Frederick John, May 10, 1891. 
EUGENE (1536). 

1551. Amy, June 16, 1883; m. Charles A. Miesch, June 

I, 1902. 

1552. Lavinia, July 19, 1887. 

1553. Ralph James, June 7, 1889. 

JOHN ELIAS (1538). 

1554. Frank Haviland (1562), April 4, 1887; m. Emily 

May Bozzo, June 2, 1907. 



268 

ROBERT (1539). 

1555. Robert, June 2, 1904. 

ELI AS (1544). 

1556. Matilda, Nov. 17, 1897. 

1557. Elias, Nov. 5, 1899. 

1558. Alice. Sept. 2, 1902. 

1559. Roy, Feb. 20, 1904. 

1560. Eliza, April 23, 1906. 

1561. May, May 3, 1908. 

FRANK (1554). 

1562. Frank Haviland, Dec. 13, 1908. 



1571. Elias (1572), born 1773; m. Sarah Sigler; died 

1862. 

1572. Lydia, Feb. i, 1803; "">• Abraham Vreeland 
. (1503) ; died Feb. 9, 1876. 

1573. Rachel, born 1805; m. Richard Varick; died 1886. 

1574. Peter (1588), born 1815; m. Sarah Dunphy; died 

1884. 

1575. Abraham, 181 1; m. Mary Gowan ; died 1876. 

1576. Ruth Ann, Nov. 23, 1813; m. Abraham Brooks, 

July I, 1827; died Jan. 24, 1854. 

1577. John E. (1581), Sept. 20, 1816; m. Rachel Lut- 

kins ; died Sept. 22, 1896. 

1578. Mary, Oct. 14, 1819; m. Henry Brooks, Jan. 12, 

1839; died July 25, 1900. 

1579. Katherine, May 14, 1821 ; m. John Deets; d. Sept. 

17, 1888. 

1580. Thomas (1590), born 1822; m. Elizabeth Mc- 

Nerney; died 1871 ; their daughter, Mary, Aug. 
15. 1874; m. John Davies. 



269 

JOHN E. (1577). 

1581. John H. (1585), July 22, 1849; "i- Jewel Van 

Kirk. 

1582. Elias, Sept. 9, 1845; "''• Margaret Sims; now 

Orange, N. J. 

1583. Ella, May 9, 1851 ; m. Albert Jacobus; now Cedar 

Grove. 

1584. Eliza C, Dec. 25, 1858; m. William H. Smith; 

d. Aug. 3, 1895. 

JOHNH. (1581). 

1585. Wilber, Feb. 14, 1876; m. Hattie Zelloff. 

1586. Clarence, April 9. 1890. 

1587. Vincent H., Jan. 10, 1893. 

PETER (1574). 

1588. Mary, July 11, 1863; m. Joseph Schumacher, Jan. 

29, 1892. 

1589. Joseph, Jan. 28, 1866. 

THOMAS (1580). 

1590. Mary A.; m. John Davies. 

1 59 1. Catherine, Ellen and John! broke through the 

ice and were drowned in the canal in the winter 
of 1874. 



1601. John. 

1602. Tunis (1603), born 1789. 

TUNIS (1602). 

1603. John (1604) ; born 1814; died 1869. 

JOHN (1603). 

1604. Tunis, Dec. i, 1837; m., first, Margaret Lutkins; 

second, Phebe Evans. 

1605. Emma; born 1839; m. M. J. Swan; their daugh- 

ter was Edith, born 1869. 



4 



270 

TUNIS (1604). 

1606. John T., Aug. 19, 1864. ^— 

1607. Stephen, Sept. i, 1865. - ™ 

1608. Caroline H., Dec. 6, 1866; m. Chas. Zabriskie; 

their children: Charles E., May 3, 1887; Grace 
M., Jan. 21, 1889; John T., June 30, 189 . 

1609. James B., May 6, 1868. 

1610. William E., June 12, 1873. 

161 1. Edward T., Jan. 15, 1877; m. Nellie Roughgar- 

den. 

1612. Herbert M., Aug. 18, 1883. 

1613. George, Sept. 20, 1885. 

1614. Alfred E., Feb. 24, 1887. 

161 5. Emma, July 22, 1888. 

1616. William H., June 2, 1890. 

1617. Tunis W., Aug. 7, 1893. 

1618. Maria, Sept. 29, 1895. 

EDWARD T. (161 1). 

1619. Edna, born 1908. 

165 1. Isaac ; father of : 

1652. Isaac; father of: 

1653. Abraham J., Oct. 20, 1788; m. Lydia Romaine; 

died April 20, 1858. 

ABRAHAM (1653). 

1654. John, Jan. 10, 1813. 

1655. Daniel A., Oct. 29, 1818; m. Rachel A. Ackerman. 

DANIEL (1655). 

1656. William D. (1708), July 12, 1849; m. Harriet 

Cadmus ; now in California. 

1657. Lydia L., Feb. 3, 1855 ; m. Martin Johnson, June 

30, 1879. 



271 

WILLIAM (1656). 
1658. Hattie D., Feb. 3, 1882. 



BERGEN COUNTY. 

MICHAEL (66) ; father of: 

1700. Abraham; born May 31, 1755; father of: 

1701. John (1702), Jan. 26, 1784; m. Hester Demarest. 

1702. Cathalina, May 10, 1810; m. Grandin Van Zile; 

their children, Hester, George and Amos. 

1703. Abram (1712), Dec. 22, 1812; m. Ellen Stager; 

he died Dec. 14, 1882; she died Feb. 6, 1887. 

1704. Sally Ann, Sept. 2, 181 5; m., first, Charles Cloyd; 

second, John Jarvis ; their children, Charles and 
Hester. 

1705. Lucinda, Sept. 15, 1820; m. Winthrop Wilson; 

their children, Hester, Euphemia, Douglas and 
Ella. 

1706. Rebecca, March 7, 1823; m. Calvin H. Van Zile; 

born June 4, 1816; died Aug. 25, 1899; their 
children : Cathalina, John Herman, Grandin and 
George. 

1707. Elizabeth, Jan. 4, 1827; died Dec. 4, 1828. 

1708. Peter Demarest (1709), Aug. 31, 1830; m. Auley 

Lavina Frederick, March 27, 1851. 

PETER (1708). 

1709. Frank Stryker (1710), July 25, 1865; m. Lucy 

E. Herben. 

FRANK (1709). 

1710. Grace May, May i, 1886; m. Archibald W. Era- 

ser; their son, Vreeland Herben Eraser. 

1711. Alma Lavina; June 15, 1890. 

ABRAM (1703). 

1712. John, Oct. 2, 1836; m. Oct. 26, 1864, Josephine 

Orr; died Oct. 15, 1883. 



272 

1713- Henry, Nov. 25, 1837; ^- Sept. 9, 1858, Catherine 
E. Tooker; d. Dec. 15, 1892. 

1714. George Washington, Feb. 3, 1845 5 d. Apr. 21, 

1859. 

1715. Hester Ann, Jan. 5. 1849; ^'^- Sept. 2, 1875, Frank- 

Hn P. Zeiger. 

1716. Sarah, July 3, 1852; d. Aug. i, 1852. 



1801. Richard (76J ; had children. 

1802. Michael (1805) ; born 1760; died May 13, 1832; 

m. Margaret Terhune ; born 1770 ; died March 
24, 1837. 

1803. Elizabeth ; m. Peter Sip, of Jersey City. 

1804. John; born 1765 ; died Nov. 28, 1850. 

MICHAEL (1802). 

1805. Richard M. (1806); born 1787; died Feb. 2, 

1849; ""i- Mary Kip, b. March 26, 1783, she died 
June 10, 1880. 

RICHARD (1805). 
a8o6. Michaer(i8i2) ; born 1787; died Feb. '2, 1849; 

m. Lavinia Brinkerhoff. 
^807. Margaret, Jan., 1819; died Aug. 7. 1896; m. 

Henry D. Westervelt. 
11808. Isaac R. (1809). Dec. 18, 1825; died April 23, 

1903 ; m. Gertrude Edsall. 

ISAAC R. (1808). 

1809. John I. (1810) ; m. Mary A. Schor. 
JOHN I. (1809). 

1810. Isaac R. ; m. Anna Ferry. 

181 1. Mary A. 

MICHAEL (1806). 

1812. Mary, April, 1842; died Oct. 21, 1863. 



273 

Cornelius (y^) was the first settler in English 
neighborhood (see Biographical Sketch, Part 
Five). His son Cornelius (93), born 1762, 
died Oct. 5, 1798, was father of: 

1821. Cornelius (1822), Feb. 27, 1792; served in war 

of 1812; died Dec. 9, 1877; m. Margaret Day, 
Dec. 4, 1815; born Jan. i, 1796; died May 23, 
1848. 
CORNELIUS (1821). 

1822. Mary Frost, June 2, 1816; m. John Garrabrant. 

1823. Michael Edward, Feb. 5, 1820; m. Mary Ann 

Sexton. 

1824. Jane, July 17, 1823 ; m. Daniel Foulk. 

1825. Cornelius, Aug. 14, 1826; m. Mary Conklin; b. 

Nov. 14, 1825 ; d. Aug. 16, 1875 . 

1826. David, Dec. 23, 1828; m. Catherine A. Banks; 

served in 35th Regiment, N. J. Volunteers, in 
the Civil War. 

1827. Sarah, Aug. 4, 1835; m. Jackson Fuller. 

CORNELIUS (1825). 

1828. Cornelius; died April 27, 1834. 
182^. Anna; died Oct. 31, 1888. 

1830. George. 

183 1. Eugenia. 

JANE (1824). 

1832. Sarah Vreeland Foulk ; m. Rev. William Bre- 

voort Bolmer ; their children : William, Thayer, 
Maurice, Daniel and Paul. 

DAVID (1826). 

1833. David. 

1834. Fanny. 

1835. Emma. 

1836. Dora. 



274 

1901. Jacob (9) ; born Aug. 9, 1678; m. Antje L. Toers, 

1703; they had son, 

1902. Michael; who was father of: 
T903. John (1911). 

T904. Abraham (1913) ; m. EHzabeth Mason, 

1905. Michael; m. Hester Van Winkle. 

1906. John ; m. Margaret Kingsland. 

1907. Ralph; m. Magdalen Pier. 

1908. Anna ; m. Daniel Van Winkle. 

1909. Magdalen ; m. John Oldham. 

JOHN (1903). 

191 1. Stephen. 

1912. Abraham, 

ABRAHAM (1904). 

1913. Warren (1818), April 15, 1822; died April 20, 

1909 ; m. Jane E. Lloyd ; now Nutley, N. J. 

1914. Mary; m. Alonzo Baldwin. 

1915. Martha. 

1916. Rosanna. 

1817. Elizabeth; m. Jared Tuers. 

WARREN (1913). 

1918. Laura; m. William Tuers. 

1919. Virginia; m. John McFarland. 



2001. John (2002), July 26, 1779; m. Brouwer; 

father of : 

2002. Jacob (2006), 1803; m. Lydia Van Riper. 

2003. EHas (2010), 1807; m. Sophie Britton, 

2004. John ; m. Kent. 

2005. Richard. 

JACOB (2002). 

2006. Henry (2012), Feb. 15, 1834; m. Phebe Ann 

Jacobus. 



275 

2007. Sarah, 1840; m. Nicholas Mandeville. 

2008. Amzi D. (2016), 1849. 

2009. John, May 11, 1852; m. Anna A. Jacobus; Cedar 

Grove. 

ELI AS (2003). 

2010. Charles E., March 10, 1852; m. Katherina Tol- 

son, 1884. 

201 1. 

HENRY (2006). 

2012. Emma; m. Thomas Van Osterbrigge. 

2013. John (2018) ; m. Jane Potmus. 

2014. Catherine ; m. Harmon Olthuis. 

2015. Mamie; m. Frederick Van Fenschoten. 

AMZI (2008). 

2016. Amzi. 

2017. Chester. 

JOHN (2013). 

2018. John Henry. 

2019. Clarence Louis, 



Ralph, son of Michael (66), had son, Hessel, b. 
May 15, 1771 ; his children are: 

2101. Isaac (2105) ; m. Jane Demarest. 

2102. Nicholas; moved to New York. 

2103. Samuel. 

2104. Richard. 

ISAAC (2101). 

2105. James (21 10) ; born 1820; m. Ellen Maria Camp- 

bell. 

2106. David (21 16) ; m. Mary Vandelinda. 

2107. Mariam; m., first, Abram Blauvelt; second, Louis 

Ensigti. 



276 

2io8. Hannah; m. John Parsells. 

2109. Betsy; m. Robert Inglis. 

JAMES (2105). 

21 10. Jane Ann; m. David E. Haring. 

21 1 1. John Jacob (21 14) ; m. Ellen H. Haring. 

21 12. Ellen Louisa; m. Levi L. Holmes. 

21 13. James Henry; died in infancy. 

JOHN JACOB (21 1 1). 

21 14. Everett H. ; m. Ida Lew. 

21 15. Milton J. 

DAVID (2106). 

2116. Sarah Jane; m. John H. Demarest. 

21 17. Evelyn; m., first, Goldsmith; second, 

Taylor. 

21 18. ; m. Ann Hankey, 



MICHAEL (67), father of 

2201. Michael (2202) ; m. Marchia Van Riper, Feb. 4, 

1784; second, Mary Coronal. 

2202. Jacob; m. Laura Smith. 

2203. Garret. 

2204. Elias; m. Nancy Stoflet. 

2205. James (2208) born ; m. Emma Barnes 

Smith, of Hudson, N. Y., Sept. i, 1835; d. 
Jan. 17, 1840. 

2206. Daniel Coronal (2221) ; m. Mary Stoflet. 

2207. Mary; m. Benjamin Reigl. 

JAMES (2205). 

2208. Laura Elizabeth, May 7, 1825; m. Dr. Abner 

Hard, May 7, 1844. Their children: Florence; 
Louise, m. W. H. Van Arsdale; Genevieve, m. 
Dr. William Murphy; Virginia, m. C. C. Shep- 
pard. 



277 

2209. Jacob Edwin, March 6, 1828 ; m. Anna C. L, 

Barnes, Detroit, Mich.; d. Sept. 12, 1896. 

2210. Lois Maria, March 31, 1831 ; m. L. Marcus War- 

den. His sister m. Henry Vreeland (2303). 
His daughter, Louise. 

221 1. Marcia, May 17, 1834; d. 

2212. Michael James (2215), Oct. 20, 1838; m. Mary- 

Helen Stoflet. See military record and por- 
trait elsewhere. 

JACOB E. (2209). 

2213. James Barnes (2217), August 21, 1864; m^ 

Emma Cordelia De Veaux. 

2214. Cora Lena, July 19, 1866; m. Charles Pierce 

Burton, May 25, 1887. Their son Lawrence 
Vreeland Burton, April 15, 1889; daughter, 
Alice Gertrude, May 24, 1891 ; son Malcolm^ 
April 23, 1896. 

MICHAEL J. (2212). 

2215. Thaddeus Whitney, Jan. 6, 1865; m. Johanna 

Jantzen. 

2216. Mary Lois, Feb. 27, 1875 ; m. Dr. Ralph E. Col- 

lins, Detroit, Mich. Their son, Frederick 
Vreeland Collins, Dec. 3, 1904. 

JAMES B. (2213). 

2217. James Barnes, April 22. 1900. 

THADDEUS W. (2215). 

2218. Thaddeus, August, 1900. 

2219. Carl, Jan., 1903. 

2220. Johanna, March, 1905. 

CORONEL (2206). 

2221. Louisa; m. Col. Chapin, U. S. A. 



278 

HENRY (1780), father of 

2301. Benjamin (2306). 

2302. John. 

2303. Henry (2310), July 10, 1810; m. EHza Warden; 

she was born May 28, 18 15. See (2200). 

2304. William. 

2305. Richard. 

BENJAMIN (2301). 

2306. Benjamin. 

2307. Mary. 

2308. William. 

2309. Abram, Oct. i, 1843. 

HENRY (2303). 

2310. John Emmons (2316), Jan. 25, 1838; m. 

231 1. Sarah L., Dec. 18, 1839. 

2312. Mary F., Dec. 4, 1842; m. Henry Bennett, To- 

peka, Kan. Their children : Belle, Mary, Harry 
and Albert. 

2313. Walter F. (2318), Jan. 5, 1845; m. Harriet Snow, 

Kansas. 

2314. Ann E., Oct. 25, 1847; ^- Edward Lufif, Oak 

Park, 111. Their children : Anna V. and Harry E. 

2315. William H. (2320), Oct. 6, 1850; m. Bessie 

Holtoyd. 
JOHN E. (2310). 

2316. May H., May i, 1871. 

2317. E. Imogene, June 25, 1874; d. Sept. 14, 1875. 

WALTER F. (2313). 

2318. Bernice. 

2319. Grace. 

WILLIAM H. (2315). 

2320. Edna. 

2321. William. 



279 

2322. Mildred. 

2323. Roy. 

JACOB {77). 

2401. Michael J (2404), Oct. 11, 1770; d. Sept. 3, 1840; 

m., first, Mary Moore, b. 1770, d. Jan. 21, 1795 ; 
second, Rachel De Groot, b. May 25, 1775, d. 
Sept. 28, 1820; third, Sarah Demarest, April 14, 
1782, d. Oct. II, 1866. 

2402. Lavinia, July 14, 1772; d. Sept, 29, 1847; m. 

Westervelt. 

MICHAEL (2401). 

2404. Jacob, April 21, 1793; d. Oct. 2, 1863; m. Mary 

Ludlow. 

2405. Clarissa, Nov. 18, 1800; d. Oct. 25, 1876; m. 

Samuel Morne. 

2406. Michael, 1797; d. 1805. 

2407. Wina, Nov. 25, 1802; d. Aug. i, 1805. 

2408. Michael Henry (2403), Jan. 6, 1807; d. July 29, 

1876 ; m. Maria Lavina Romaine ; she d. Apr. 

23, 1905- 

2409. Stephen De Mot (2416), b. 1808; d. 1859; m. 

Mary Westervelt. 

2410. Ellen, Jan. i, 181 1 ; d. Sept. 12, 1831. 

241 1. Rachel, Mar. 21, 1813; d. Apr. 13, 1823. 

2411a. Lavinia M., Apr. i, 1816; d. Oct. 4, 1868; m. 
William Dyckman. 

2412. John De Groot, June 12, 1818; d. Sept. 15, 1820. 

MICHAEL (2408). 

2413. William H., Feb. 9, 1854; d. May 13, 1854. 

2414. J. Romaine, Apr. 23, 1849; d- J^"- 12. 1878. 

2415. Emily; m. Frederick W. Winterburn. 



28o 

Their daughter, Una Adele, m. Otis Yale Harsen* 
have one child, Frederick Winterburn Harsen, Feb. 4, 
1909. Daughter, Eva Marie, m. Charles De Kay Wolfe, 
another daughter is Olive Emily Winterburn. 

STEPHEN (2409). 

2416. Rachel Clarissa, 1837 ; d. 1859. 

2417. Ellen, 1842; d. 1869. 

2418. Mary; m. James Demarest. 

2419. Sarah. 

2420. Michael S. ; m. Lena Earle. 

2421. Ida. 



2451. Nicholas; m. Amialy van Blarcom. 

2452. Michael (3) ; m. Elizabeth Redner at Passaic^ 

N.J. 
MICHAEL (2452). 

2453. Michael, Dec. 28, 1807; m. Margaret Van Riper, 

Dec. 25, 1831, at Fayette, N. Y. 

2454. Henry (12), Oct. 5, 1810; m. Mary A. Ceede. 

2455. Margaret, Aug. 11, 1812. 

2456. Eliza ; m. Hezekiah Knowles. 

2457. Charity. 

MICHAEL (2453). 

2458. Gertrude. 

2459. Elizabeth; m. Samuel Rice Jan. 21, 1862. 

2460. Charity; m. James Kipp Jan. 26, 1864. 

2461. Mary. 

HENRY (2454). 

2462. Margaret. 

2463. William (14) ; m. Clara Shreve April 19. 1833. 

WILLIAM (2463). 

2464. Charles Henry. 



28l 

2500. Paul, born about 1819; m. Eliza Cabrey Vree- 

land ; father of 

2501. John Henry. 



Richard (2508) ; m. Emma Flandrau ; died 1908. 

Peter ; m. Alice Fearnand ; died 1873. 

George (2515) ; m. Mary Ann Paul. 

Jane; m. Benjamin Limbert; died 1893. 

James. 

Hattie. 



2502. 

2503- 
2504. 

2505- 
2506. 
2507. 

The four eldest sons enlisted in the Civil War ; John 
Henry was killed in the battle of Williamsburg, Alay, 
1862 ; George served in the infantry during the entire 
war. 

RICHARD (2502). 
2508. Annie; 2509, Richard; 2510, Peter; 251 1, Sadie; 
2512, Minnie; 2513, Lea; 2514, Harvey. 

GEORGE (2504). 

2515. Lillie. 

2516. Mamie ; m. Alfred William Watson June 26, 1901, 

New York City. 

2517. George Washington ; m. Maritta York Sisson. 

2518. Florence. 

2519. Robert Paul; m. Blanche Ethel Buckridge Sept. 

17, 1908. 
2^20. Edna. 




a 



PART FIFTH. 

Vreelands of Yesterday and Today. 




John Elias Vreeland (1517). 



JOHN ELIAS VREELAND (I5J7). 

Was born July ii, 1832, in Brouwertown, Passaic 
County, but came to Paterson with his parents a few 
years later. When twelve years old he began work in 
the Danforth Cotton Mills, and here won speedy promo- 
tion. When Danforth, Cooke & Co. organized he went 
over to the locomotive department, and continued there 
until his retirement. 

He celebrated the golden anniversary of his wedding 
with Ann Louise Post in 1903. 

He has resided in his present home nearly fifty years. 
He has always been a staunch Republican, but never 
could be prevailed upon to accept public office ; has been 
active in church work, as Sunday School teacher and 
superintendent, and still takes active interest in the work 
of the Methodist Church. 

"Uncle John" is still a familiar figure in Paterson, and 
is hailed when met upon the streets with hearty expres- 
sions of good will and respect by all who know him. 

NEHEMIAH VREELAND (J532). 

Portrait on Page 134. 

Was born in Paterson, N. J., on February 7, 1856, and 
after receiving a common school education went to work 
in Clark's hardware store, and in 1899 he took over the 
business himself and continued until the time of the great 
fire in 1902. He then took a position in the Hamilton 
Trust Company, and is still a valued man in that insti- 
tution. He is a great lover of art and of music, and has 
used his natural gift in the last named branch to good 
advantage as organist in the Market Street, Main Street 
and Grace Methodist Churches. He has ocupied official 
positions in a number of building and loan associations. 



286 

He married Louisa Klein, June 13, 1883, and has one 
son, Frederick John Vreeland, born May 11, 1891. 

Every man. has at least one hobby, but Mr. Vreeland 
has a pair of them, one of them being the home manu- 
facture and accumulations of some fine old wines, which 
by the thousand bottles are growing mellow with age in 
his cellars. His other hobby is coin collecting, which he 
has been engaged in since a dozen years of age. 

He owns now one of the finest private collections in 
the country, numbering over five thousand specimens, 
gathered from all parts of the world. To mention a very 
few, we might cite his possession of a fifty tael piece of 
China, used to pay the Boxer indemnity. It is a silver 
ingot, weighing sixty ounces, and the specimen in Mr. 
Vreeland's possession is the only one in the country in 
the hands of a private collector. One of the largest gold 
coins in the world, called Kei-Eho-Dai-Bau, from Japan, 
the milling value of which is $76, is six inches long and 
nearly as wide. Other novelties are Indian wampum, 
made near Hackensack, a copper coin of Sweden, weigh- 
ing six and three-quarter pounds, and measuring nine by 
ten inches. Per contra, is the one sixty-fourth ducat of 
Regensberg, about the size of a pin head. Likewise may 
be seen a silver thaler of 1778, used to pay the Hessian 
hirelings during the Revolution, and justly styled "Blood 
money." He has specimens of the famous Leiden, Hol- 
land money, made out of cardboard and book covers, dur- 
ing the famous siege of Leiden in 1574. 

Mr. Vreeland has at his tongue's end the history of 
every specimen in his collection. He is a member of the 
American Numismatic Association and the British 
Numismatic Society of London. 

He is a member of the Holland Society of New York, 
and author of a history of the Paterson branch of the 
Post family, of which he is a lineal descendant. 



Nicholas 
Vreeland 
(136). 




Elizabeth 
\'reeland. 



NICHOLAS VREELAND (J36). 

In the group of old Vreeland homesteads at the head 
of the chapter on "Some Vreeland Homesteads," will be 
seen the original home of Nicholas Vreeland (136), built 
by him very nearly a century ago, and in which he made 
his home for nearly fifty years, when he built the larger 
home standing in the center of the block, and now owned 
and occupied by his daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and 
Mrs. Samuel Dusenberry Tompkins. 

When the original house was built the whole section 
surrounding it was farm land, with no indications of a 
great city apparent. The old stage road to Newark 
(Communipaw avenue) passed the door, and Bergen 
Point Plank road (Garfield avenue) and old Bergen 
road (Bergen avenue) were the only public roads. 

Nicholas Vreeland, son of Michael and Gertrude 
Sickles \'reeland, was born February 20, 1789, at Com- 
munipaw, in the house built by Michael Jansen in 1658, 
after the Indians had burned the original log house at 
the time of the massacre in 1655. Thus, here within 
sight of the original home of his forefathers, Mr. Vree- 
land lived his eight years, ever a most conscientious and 
highly respected citizen, kind and gentle of mien, beloved 
by all who knew him. 

He married in 1814 Annatje, daughter of Ed. Win- 
ner, who died childless, in 1832. Two years later he 
married Elizabeth \"an Riper, of Wesel, Bergen County. 
She died March 11, 1889. Two children survive. John 
Van Riper Vreeland, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Getti- 
anna Vreeland Tompkins, of Jersey City. John and 
Gettianna each had five children, a complete record of 
whom can be found in our Genealogical chapter. 



289 
CORNELIUS VREELAND (I82J), 

Portrait on Page 159. 

Cornelius C. Vreeland was born in English neighbor- 
hood, Bergen County, New Jersey, on February 27, 1792, 
in the house pictured above, which building is still stand- 
ing and is now occupied as a tavern. 

Mr. Vreeland's grandfather was the first settler in 
English Neighborhood, and owned almost all the land 
now occupied by the Borough of Ridgefield. He moved 
there about 1750. The old Dutch Reformed Church and 
burying ground are located upon a portion of his farm. 

Cornelius Vreeland, 3d, the subject of our sketch, was 
a man noted for his sterling integrity and strong con- 
stancy of affection, a "Chevalier sans peur et sans re- 
proche." His branch of the family sustained manfully 
the Vreeland reputation for patriotism. Cornelius {y^)) 
fought in the Revolutionary War; his grandson, Cor- 
nelius (1821), served during the War of 1812, and the 
latter's son, David (1826), was in the Thirty-fifth Regi- 
ment, New Jersey Volunteers, in the Civil War. 

Cornelius married Margaret Day, in 181 5, and the 
union was blessed with three sons and three daughters. 

His son, Michael Edward, was a successful contractor 
in New York City. Cornelius and David established an 
iron industry over which George, son of the former, now 
presides as owner. His daughter, Mary, married John 
Garrabrant, and died childless ; Jane married Daniel 
Cooper Foulk, and had three daughters, only one of 
which reached maturity, viz. : Sarah Vreeland Foulk. 
She married Rev. William Brevoort Bolmer, an Episco- 
pal clergyman. His youngest child, Sarah, married An- 
drew Jackson Fuller, and had four children, who lived 
to grow up. Two died in early womanhood, and her 
only son, N. E. Fuller, is a Congregational minister. 



290 
GEORGE VREELAND (21). 

What is generally called the "Greenville" line of Vree- 
lands comprise a very notable portion of the great family. 
It is noted further that it has kept its ranks compact, as 
a greater proportion of its members reside to-day upon 
the ancestral acres than any other of the original lines. 
These lands have been in the possession of the family 
ever since the original grants to Michael Jansen, his wife 
Sophia, and their son Enoch, who is the ancestor of the 
particular line we are describing. Enoch himself lived 
upon the bluff overlooking New York Bay, opposite Wil- 
kinson avenue. His public record is given in Chapter 
XXXI. His son Joris (94), shortly after his marriage, 
built the house on the shore, at the foot of Chapel ave- 
nue, pictured in the center of the group of old home- 
steads, which is to-day the oldest Vreeland homestead in 
Hudson County. Joris's on, Garret, served in the Rev- 
olutionary War, participating in the battles of Trenton, 
Princeton and Freehold among others. His son George 
(83) was a soldier in the War of 18 12. He married 
Catherine Newkirk, and their portraits are shown on 
another page. He purchased the old Gautier mansion on 
the bay, and lived there until his death. He was a noted 
character in his day, whether engaged in farming, fishing 
or in public life. 

His son George (115) was born October 8, 1816, and 
married Cathalina Newkirk. Their portraits can be 
found elsewhere. Nine children came to bless their 
union. He resided in the old Cubberly homestead until 
1876. when he built a fine house adjoining, and would 
probably have died there had it not been that the land 
was needed for the great Pennsylvania Railroad Termi- 
nal, and he was compelled to move. He then built the 
house shown in the group at the beginning of this story, 
and lived there until his death in 1905. He was a quiet, 



292 

self-contained man, of considerable force of character. 
Aside from the occupation of farmer and fisherman, the 
line adopted by the first comers, he did not enter into 
commercial business, but was especially active in public 
affairs, filling the offices of town committeeman, town 
treasurer, school trustee and others. 

George Washington (197), the third child and eld- 
est son, was born June 3, 1842, and married Helen Jane 
Smith. Like his father, he engaged in farming, and later 
took up the more profitable line of market gardening 
with great success. With his savings he made many 
shrewd investments in real estate, and is to-day a very 
large holder of this valuable article. He inherited by his 
father's will the home of the late Charles H. Winfield,. 
the county historian, where he now resides. 

Oliver Perry Vreeland was born October 10, 1853, 
and after his school days were over engaged in market 
gardening with his brothers. In this, as in other lines 
later in life, he was peculiarly successful, and the products 
of his combined brain and labor always commanded a 
leading position in the markets of the metropolis, on ac- 
count of their superior qualities. 

When the Greenville Banking and Trust Company was 
organized he was one of its most active supporters, and 
he and his brother George were elected directors, and 
Oliver was elected secretary and treasurer in August, 
1904. He was elected for this very important office 
because of his life-time acquaintance with the surround- 
ing lands and long and intimate knowledge of the people 
in the neighborhood, a decidedly valuable asset to an 
institution of this kind. He has continued in the same 
office ever since, and resides in a handsome house that 
he built on Garfield avenue. 

Ferdinand "\''reeland, the youngest son, was born 
March 14, 1856, and married Sadie M. Holmes, of Mon- 



294 

mouth County, who is a lineal descendant of Colonel 
Asher Holmes, one of General George Washington's 
favorite and most trusty aides. Colonel Holmes' record 
as a Revolutionary soldier is a part of the history of the 
nation, and does not need repetition here. Ferdinand 
maintains a summer home in Branchport, Monmouth 
County, facing the Shrewsbury River, and in the winter 
season occupies his father's former residence in Jersey 
City, which he inherited from his father. Pictures of the 
homes of these three brothers are shown at the beginning 
of this story. 

Of the daughters, Sophia Jane, the eldest, married 
Andrew Cadmus ; Cathalina married Peter Sip Van 
Winkle, whose great-grandmother was a Vreeland of 
Bergen County, and Rachael Emma married Isaac V. 
Kershaw. 



" HOME, SWEET HOME." 

"Zy het nochtans zoo nederig, 
Daar is geen plaats zoo als t'huis." 

"Be it ever so humble. 
There is no place like Home." 



295 
ANDREW VREELAND (927). 

Portrait on Page 156. 

Andrew Vreeland was born May 21, 181 5, and in early- 
boyhood was appointed to the Rogers, Ketcham & Gros- 
venor Locomotive and Machine Company. He served in 
the cotton machinery department to such good effect that 
he was promoted to be foreman before the end of his 
apprenticeship, and continued with the firm until Mr. 
Rogers' death in 1859. 

He then started out for himself in the cotton spinning 
business in 1859, and conducted this so successfully that 
he was enabled to retire with a competence in 1885. He 
was elected a member of the Board of Chosen Free- 
holders of Passaic County in 1854, and was re-elected in 
1855 and 1856, the last year serving as director of the 
Board. He made a splendid record, always looking out 
for the good and welfare of the people of the county. 
He was a consistent and active member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church for over seventy years, being fre- 
quently elected to prominent official positions, including 
the presidency of the Board of Trustees, which honorable 
position he occupied for a number of years. He was also 
a trustee of the Mount Tabor Camp Meeting Association. 
and chairman of its Executive Committee for a long time. 

Mr. Vreeland was a man of strong convictions and 
sterling qualities ; his busines career was a credit to him- 
self, an honor to his home city, and a splendid legacy of 
remembrance to his family. He won and maintained the 
respect of all with whom he came in contact, and died at 
the ripe old age of 86 years, on May 19, 1901. 



296 
GEORGE FRANKLYN VREELAND (707). 

The first ferry established legally on the Hudson River 
connecting New York and New Jersey was the Commu- 
nipaw ferry in 1661, about the time that Bergen village 
received its new charter. It ran to the foot of Commu- 
nipaw lane, shown in the picture of Communipaw. 
Michael Jansen was licensed and became the first legal- 
ized ferryman. 

From Communipaw the route was up Communipaw 
lane and Brown's ferry road to the Hackensack River, 
and to Newark, and thence by "the Excellenf New York 
and Philadelphia Running Machines," as they were 
grandiloquently advertised, to the city of Brotherly Love, 

After the battle of Paulus Hook in 1789 the line of 
travel turned in the direction of the new Jersey City, and 
a ferry was regularly maintained at the foot of what is 
now called Grand Street, the stage route being up the old 
Mill road, now Academy street, to Newark, Orange and 
elsewhere. 

While a Vreeland was the first ferryman, another en- 
ergetic member of the family, William Vreeland (703), 
established a line of stages between Orange and Jersey 
City about 1825. Unlike the traction monopoly of the 
present day, Mr. Vreeland experienced lively competi- 
tion, and to such extent did the opposition grow, with 
consequent lowering of fares, that at last he agreed to 
carry passengers free, and by this master stroke soon had 
the field to himself. His line of coaches became popu- 
larly known as "Flying Dutchmen," owing to the supe- 
riority of speed over all rivals. 

Mr. Vreeland also operated a line of stages on Broad- 
way, New York, running from the Battery to Bleecker 
street, which was the boundary of the built up section. 

He died in 1863, and was accredited as a man of 




George Franklyn Vreeland (707). 



298 

wealth. The homestead place, sixty acres in extent, at 
the corner of Center and Harrison streets, was one of 
the show places of Orange. The house still compares 
favorably with the beautiful modern homes built around 
it in what is now the choicest residential part of the city, 
but the family disposed of its holdings at the close of the 
Civil War. 

ORRIN SWIFT VREELAND (704) was associated 
with his father in business until he entered the army as 
a private in Company H, Twenty-sixth Regiment, New 
Jersey \'olunteers. He returned from the war broken in 
health from the exposures and hardships of service, and 
died in 1874. 

GEORGE FRANKLYN VREELAND (707), grand- 
son of William and son of Orrin S., was born in Newark, 
September 9, 1866. Shortly after his father's death, in 
1875, he moved to Summit, Union County. He received 
a good public school education, and at the age of sixteen 
engaged in the woolen goods business in New York, and 
has continued in it ever since, and for some years has 
been the head of the firm of Vreeland & Wilson, 79 to 83 
Fifth avenue, New York City, conducting a large and 
successful business, the firm being considered leaders in 
their line, enjoying an enviable reputation among their 
business associates. 

Mr. Vreeland has always been a Republican in politics, 
and for many years has taken a prominent part in the 
political life of his home city, county and State. He has 
held many positions of honor in the Summit city govern- 
ment, appointive and elective. He served three years in 
the City Council from the First Ward, and was then 
elected after a hot contest as Councilman-at-Large, and 
was chosen as presiding officer of the Council. At the 
expiration of his term of office the members of the Coun- 
cil presented him with a very handsome gavel as a "token 



299 

of their appreciation, of his unfailing fairness and court- 
esy and a memorial of their friendship, sincere regard 
and respect." No present or past occupant of the ofifice 
has been so signally honored. 

He was once more elected President of the Council, 
and at the death of Mayor Wilcox, shortly afterward^ he 
became, by virtue of his office. Mayor of the city, but the 
duties and responsibilities of the office, together with the 
chairmanship of the Street Committee and membership 
in several other committees, brought such a tax upon his 
time and strength that he decided to retire at the end 
of his term. The nomination for Mayor was tendered in 
the fall of 1907, but his decision to retire was irrevocable. 
His friends, however, throughout the entire city claim 
that he is the logical candidate and insist on his standing 
for the honorable office at the coming election, and if he 
accepts his election is assured. Mr. Vreeland is Vice- 
President of the Republican Club, a member of the Sum- 
mit Board of Trade and chairman of its Committee on 
Transportation and Franchise. He has also been a mem- 
ber of the Board of Excise Commissioners ever since its 
organization. He was a charter member of the Canoe 
Brook Country Club, and a long time member of the 
Highland Club, but as a "typical club" man he is too 
busily engaged in other lines to give much time to this 
more or less agreeable occupation. He would not be 
eligible to either the "Golf" or "Tennis" cabinets, nor 
does he play "Bridge," but like his forefathers, he does 
love a good horse, and has a fine specimen in his stable. 
His grandfather was credited with having the finest stable 
of horses in the State, and his father in his time was a 
"crack whip," being capable, it is said, of turning a four- 
in-hand on a ten cent piece. This may be drawing a 
pretty fine line, but it conveys a good idea of his prowess. 



300 

George F. Vreeland married IDA MAY RONSx\- 
VILLE, of Washington, D. C, June 14, 1893, ^^^^ four 
children have since blessed their union, Donald Ronsaville, 
Carroll Irving, Paul Ford and Isabel. The first named 
youngster, by the way, captured a prize in the recent 
Lincoln history contest in New York. 

Mrs. Vreeland, in her turn, is a woman of culture, and 
is especially gifted as a vocalist. Before her marriage 
she was prominent in vocal and musical circles in Wash- 
ington, and since taking up her home in Summit has 
renewed her standing as a leader in these lines of a city's 
activities. She is a member of the exclusive Fortnightly 
Club, and chairman of its musical dpartment, which gives 
the members many enjoyable entertainments and adds 
greatly to the pleasures of membership. She has been 
an active member of the City Improvement Association 
and chairman of its Committee on Parks, which has done 
so much towards making Summit one of the most beau- 
tiful residential cities in the State. 

The Vreelands have a comfortable summer home at 
Avon-by-the-Sea on the Atlantic coast, where they spend 
the summer during the school vacations, and entertain 
their friends en familie. Mr. Vreeland, by reason of his 
business cares, has been able to enjoy but few vaca- 
tions, but he has found opportunity on occasion to run 
away for a few weeks and enjoy with his wife winter 
trips in Porto Rico, the West Indies and Florida. 



30I 




Residence of George F. Vreeland, Summit, N. J. 



This house is located on Hobart avenue, near Franklyn 
place, and is of colonial design, of cream colored stucco 
and red roof. The entrance is through a vestibule to a 
large living room, from which the stairs ascend to the 
second story. The woodwork is of white enamel, with 
stair-treads, railing and doors of mahogany. The walls 
are decorated in green, with golden Fleur-de-lis. A 
music room to the left is separated by a flat arch, sup- 
ported by columns and pilasters; the walls of the room 
are hung with German moire and gold. A den to the 
right is provided with a large window-seat, book-case and 
an open fireplace. It is wainscoated and has beamed 
ceiling and other woodwork of Antwerp oak. Walls are 
hung with dull brown Spanish leather, with a ceiling of 
rich metallic red. The dining room is finished in Flemish 
quartered oak, and beamed ceiling, walls decorated in 
bronze green, leather, with gold and copper tracery. 



302 

Windows of stained glass, set in copper, abound through- 
out the house. 

On the second floor is the owner's room, with a sewing 
room on one side, and a dressing room and bathroom on 
the other. The bathroom is tiled in white, with solid 
porcelain fixtures, with French mirrors set in the walls. 
Three more bedrooms and a linen closet complete this 
floor. The third floor is given up to the servants' rooms 
and the children's playroom. Laundry and owner's 
work-shop, one of Mr. Vreeland's hobbies, occupy the 
cellar. The house is heated by hot water, and lighted 
by electricity and gas. 

The stable in the rear is well appointed, and is occupied 
by Alda Medium, one of the fastest pacers in the country. 

HERBERT HAROLD VREELAND. 

Herbert Harold Vreeland, President and General 
Manager of the Metropolitan Street Railway system, was 
born in the town of Glen, in the Mohawk Valley, New 
York, on October 22, 1856. His father, the Rev. Abra- 
ham H. Vreeland, was for a quarter of a century the 
pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church at that place. 
When Herbert was fifteen he secured his first employ- 
ment in Newark, New Jersey, to which city the family 
had removed ; later he engaged in a number of other 
employments before he determined upon the field best 
suited to his efforts. Railroading was finally selected and 
he became a gravel shoveller on a night construction train 
on the Long Island Railroad. Shortly afterward he was 
advanced to the position of track walker, and succes- 
sively to that of switchman, freight brakeman, conductor, 
and finally to superintendent of the floating equipment of 
the company. The control of the road passing into other 
hands, he lost his position and was compelled to start 



304 

afresh. This he did on the New York & Northern road, 
where he obtained a position as freight brakeman, and 
attracted the favorable attention of his superiors, with 
the result that he rapidly rose to the posts of passenger 
conductor, trainmaster, superintendent and eventually 
manager. 

The story of Mr. Vreeland's first acquaintance with 
William C. Whitney is a familiar one to those connected 
with or interested in railroad matters, but it will bear 
repetition in this history. 

It appears that Mr. Whitney and his associates in the 
financial world, having under contemplation the purchase 
of the New York & Northern, accompanied by the direc- 
tors, were taking a trip over the road for the purpose 
of ascertaining the condition and workings of the prop- 
erty. The superintendent of the road accompanied the 
party, and from time to time as questions were asked 
him he made answer: 

'T will ask Vreeland about it," or "Vreeland has the 
matter in charge." 

"Where is this man Vreeland who seems to know so 
much about the road?" Mr. Whitney exclaimed. In re- 
ply, the youthful superintendent summoned a broad- 
shouldered young man, six feet three inches tall, with 
fresh cheeks and a cheerful smile, who was acting as con- 
ductor of the train. There wasn't a question he failed 
to answer, and, moreover, he was full of suggestions. 

Some time after this incident and while engaged with 
his routine duties ^Ir. \^reeland received a telegram read- 
ing: 

H. H. \'reeland : 

Meet me at Broadway and Seventh Avenue ofiice at 
two o'clock to-day. 

William C. Whitney. 



305 

He hastened to keep the appointment, but ]\Ir. Whit- 
ney had left the office when he arrived. There was a 
letter awaiting him, however, of which the following is a 
copy: 

Mr. H. H. Vreeland: 

Dear Sir : — x\t a meeting of the stockholders of the 
West Street, Houston Street and Pavonia Railroad Com- 
pany, held this day, you were unanimously elected a 
director of the company. 

At a subsequent meeting of the directors you were 
unanimously elected president and general manager, your 
duties to commence immediately. 

Yours truly, 

C. E. Warren^ Secretary. 

This was the beginning of the great Whitney syndicate 
of street railways in New York, as it was the commence- 
ment of one of the most notable and successful individual 
careers in the history of railroading. 

The "Philadelphia syndicate," with Mr. Whitney as its 
chief New York member, started in to absorb the street 
traffic of New York. Horse road after horse road was 
bought, and soon Mr. Vreeland's name came to be known 
throughout the railroad and financial world. His has 
been the brain which planned and his the hand which 
carried .nto execution the .gigantic plans which has made 
the Metropolitan Street Railway system what is to-day 
the most complete and best managed in the world. 

Mr. Vreeland is essentially a "broad-gauge" man. His 
talents for organization and control are marvelous, and 
his employees honor, love and respect him, and here per- 
haps we have struck the keynote of his success. 

The policy that Mr. Vreeland inaugurated and which 
he religiously maintains in the conduct of the affairs of 
his company inspires his men with confidence, and makes 



3o6 

them understand that they can count on fair treatment at 
his hands. Furthermore, Mr. Vreeland never deviates 
from the policy of promoting men from the ranks. 

Every one of the thousands in the service has his eyes 
fixed on the place ahead of him. He is well aware that 
advancement depends solely on his conduct and individual 
effort. The humblest employee has access to the Presi- 
dent and knows that any grievance will be accorded a 
respectful hearing and guaranteed just and impartial 
adjustment. 

The system provides for voluntary and involuntary 
retirement of all employees so included, between the ages 
of sixty-five and seventy, after twenty-five years' service 
in the Metropolitan Street Railway Company or any of 
its constituent companies. That was the first pension 
system ever established for street railway employees, and 
is the final step in the system inaugurated by President 
Vreeland when he took charge of the Metropolitan for 
steadying and elevating the status of its 15,000 employees. 



307 
GARRET VREELAND (225). 

Portraits on Pages 82 and 96. 

Was born November 21, 1814, in the house built by 
Michael Jansen, on the shore of Communipavv Bay. The 
next year his father, Garret (138) built a new house at 
"Off-all," at the present corner of Randolph Avenue and 
Harmon Street, a picture of which is shown in the Old 
Homestead group. Here he remained, assisting his father 
in the farm and fishery, until his marriage in 1834 with 
Catherine Van Buskirk, of Constable Hook. z*\ccording 
to the custom of the time, his father set off to him a por- 
tion of the parental acres on the old Bergen Road, run- 
ning to the present Ocean Avenue on both sides of Orient 
Avenue. 

He worked this and the "ten-acre" plot on the "back 
lane" and an equal sized plot about in the center of the 
Greenville Heights development, with a piece of salt 
meadow on the Hackensack River, and a wood lot at New 
Durham. He took up market gardening, and became the 
leader in that line of activity, just as he did in many 
others, later in life. His products always led the market 
in price and quality, so thorough did he prosecute the 
work. He also continued the net fishing in the bays. 

He filled many public offices by appointment and elec- 
tion, assessor, collector, town clerk, freeholder, and school 
trustee. He was tendered the nomination for Mayor of 
Bergen several times, but declined. 

He organized the "League of Public Safety" during the 
Civil War ; was president of the Union League, president 
of the Lincoln and Johnson Campaign Club in 1865 ; he 
was repeatedly elected deacon and elder of the old Ber- 
gen Dutch Reformed Church, and taught in its Sunday 
School for many years. No matter where duty called, he 
was always ready, and always served with credit to the 



3o8 

office and honor to himself. He embarked in the real 
estate business in 1867, and was very successful, but the 
Black Friday panic of 1875 hit him hard, just as it did 
thousands of others. The subsequent depression of the 
market wrought havoc with all large realty holders every- 
where. 

He became the father of eight children, the only sur- 
vivor being the author of this book. He died in Asbury 
Park, in November, 1890, and was buried in the family 
vault in the Bergen graveyard. 

NICHOLAS GARRETSON VREELAND. 

Portrait : Frontispiece. 

Was born in the town of Bergen on June 21, 1849; 
attended public school and graduated from Hasbrouck 
Institute in 1866, took a short term in New Haven Busi- 
ness College. In 1867 he took up surveying and three 
years later was appointed city surveyor, and afterward 
made accountant of assessments. In 1876 he removed 
to Metuchen to try a spell at farming, but soon tired of 
this, and came back to Jersey City. In 1882 he became 
accountant at the Passaic Print Works, and in 1890 was 
appointed engineer of the Cape Cod Ship Canal. In 1892 
he returned once more to his native heath, and became 
the manager of a large coal company. In 1896 he took 
up a portion of his great-great-grandfather's farm, laid 
it out into lots, and built nearly fifty houses on it. 

He has been a Republican in politics all of his life, and 
has occupied many positions of influence in the councils 
of his party. He has organized a number of improve- 
ment associations, and has been a profuse writer for the 
papers, as editor and reporter ; has organized many coun- 
cils of the Royal Arcanum, American Mechanics and 
other orders. He has always been a close student of 



309 

history, and is now in full swing of the outcome of his 
studies, as president and editor of the Historical Publish- 
ing Company of Jersey City, Hudson County, N. J. 



FRANCIS WILLIAM VREELAND (J 020). 

In that period quaintly referred to as the "early seven- 
ties," when across the western plains the now obsolete 
prairie schooner jolted and creaked upon its way toward 
the setting sun, John Houseman Vreeland and his young 
wife Ida left the Illinois home of their immediate ances- 
tors and embarked with their few earthly possessions in 
one of those canvas canopied overland vessels upon a 
journey to what in those days was considered the "far 
West." After many eventless days this new home-seek- 
ing journey ended in the vicinity of a small group of 
modest and somewhat primitive dwellings, collectively 
known as the village of Seward, in the new-born State 
of Nebraska. 

Like many another of those thrifty and intent pioneers, 
John Houseman Vreeland was forced to forget his trade, 
that of watchmaker, and to turn his attention to the prom- 
ising, unbroken soil of that fertile territory. But, also, 
as happens to many of the town-bred, the yield of the 
soil was not so enticing as the call of the growing village, 
so Seward soon gained a much respected citizen, and an 
energetic and successful business man. 

On March loth, in the year 1879, this remote branch 
of the family of Vreeland, and also the community of 
Seward, was increased by one member, a boy, duly named 
Francis William Vreeland. With the advent of the young- 
ster, within the father there again awakened the pioneer's 
he became restless, and at intervals varying from one to 
three or four years, transferred his family and business 




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D 2 d _ ^ >- 

z "J w o ^ ^ 

< J w 01 X :? 

a ^ a o (n 

fa ^ > ^ 2 Z 



3" 

spirit for more rapid advancement in worldly possessions, 
interests to what he considered points of greater oppor- 
tunity in the then thriving ''middle West." 

At the age of twelve, when to thoughtless and care-free 
youth, public schools become as prisons, and learning as 
vanity and vexation, young Francis was permitted by his 
indulgent parents to turn his back upon the temple of 
learning. He was then started in the establishment of 
his father, upon what the parent intended should be his 
future career — a life of devotion to affairs commercial. 

While living at Wichita, Kans., and during a course in 
bookkeeping in a local commercial college, the son was 
lured from the carefully planned life work that the father 
had set for him through the agency of a possible course 
in the college known as Pen Art. In this department the 
lad became a diligent student at the cost of his diploma 
in bookkeeping and the aspirations of the parent. By 
dint of much persuasion and through the weakness of 
parental love for an only son, Francis was once more 
permitted to follow his own course, which led to the Cin- 
cinnati Academy of Fine Arts. Here, as a pupil, under 
Professors Otto Walter Beck, J. H. Sharp and Vincent 
Nowatuy, he spent three years. 

In recognition of the success of his former efforts, 
young Vreeland was at once admitted to the life classes 
of the "Academy" instead of having to pass through the 
generally required one-year of preparatory work. It 
later developed that his instructors figured among the 
artistic assets of his nature "a. fine sense of color har- 
mony," a special talent in design and one of the highest 
of nature's gifts, "originality." And during these three 
years he frequently enjoyed the distinction of working 
with a limited few of the most promising students in the 
private studio of Mr. Beck. 

Upon leaving the Academy and after serious and some- 



3'2 

what discouraging attempts to gain a footing in some 
field from which he could obtain a livelihood in payment 
for artistic effort, the student was finally admitted as a 
designer and decorator in the studios of the foremost art 
pottery of this country, i. e., the Rookwood Pottery of 
Cincinnati. And nine months after entering into pottery 
decoration he was gratified in seeing one of his produc- 
tions chosen for exhibition in the Fine Arts section of 
the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition. 

Pottery decoration, though standing high in the eyes 
of the art world, is a somewhat isolated field and seemed 
limited to the ambitious mind, so the venturesome and 
restless spirit inherited from his father caused this young 
designer to turn his eyes toward the country's recognized 
center of art. Arrived in New York in the summer of 
1901, with liabilities of possible greatness, or failure and 
total assets of thirty dollars, he determined to here pursue 
his studies and attempt to climb in his chosen profession. 

In April of the year 1903 Francis William VreelanH 
was married to Marion Hastings - Smalley. That he is 
gaining recognition, and that his continued application to 
study, as well as to production in his work, is bearing 
fruit, is attested to by his having held, for some four 
years, the Art Editorship of the American Printer, a 
publishers' and printers' magazine of considerable im- 
portance ; that there has appeared under his signature 
three score or more articles upon the subject of art; that 
upon various occasions in New York and before classes 
and organizations in the publishing field he has lectured 
upon the application of Art to publications and kindred 
subjects, and that examples from his brush have been 
accepted for exhibition along with work representative 
of the highest type of American art. 



313 

JOHN BEAM VREELAND (1170). 

Mr. Vreeland was born in Newark, N. J., December 30, 
1852, is a son of George W. and Sarah M. Vreeland, and 
a descendent on his father's side from Holland ancestry, 
who came directly from Holland and settled in New Jer- 
sey in 1638, and on his mother's side from English settlers 
of before the Revolutionary War. He has twice been 
married, first to Miss Ida A. Piotrowski, December 18, 
1878, and, second, to Miss Ida King Smith, June 2, 1897. 
He was educated in the common schools, and, after at- 
tending the Newark High School one year, his family, in 
1868, moved to Morristown, where he has since resided. 
While in Newark he served a newspaper route morning 
and evening for nearly a year. In 1870 Mr. Vreeland 
began the study of law with F. G. Burnham, completing 
his studies with the late Colonel F. A. DeMott, and was 
admitted to the bar as an attorney in November, 1875, 
and as a counsellor at the June term of the Supreme 
Court in 1879. Chancellor McGill appointed him a Special 
Master in Chancery in 1892, and the Supreme Court ap- 
pointed him a Commissioner of that court, June 7, 1882. 
Mr. Vreeland has been in active and successful practice 
in Morristown since his admission to the bar. He has 
served as Township Clerk of Morris Township, Deputy 
County Clerk, Acting Prosecutor of the Pleas of the 
County of Morris, and also as Town Counsl of Morris- 
town. In 1895 he was elected to the State Senate for 
Morris County by a plurality of 1,526 over George Mc- 
Cracken, his Democratic opponent. During his term of 
three years as State Senator he took an active part in 
legislation, served on leading committees, and was a mem- 
ber of the Commission to Revise the Banking and Trust 
Company Laws. He was president of the Commission 
appointed by Governor Stokes to revise the Corporation 




John Beam Vreeland (1170). 



315 

Laws of New Jersey. In 1898 he was appointed by Gov- 
ernor Voorhees as Judge of the Morris County Courts for 
a term of five years. 

Mr. Vreeland was appointed by President RooseveU to 
the office of United States Attorney for the District of 
New Jersey on October 20, 1903, and again November 16 
1903, and the third time on December 9, 1907; the first 
appointment was od interim and the other two for the 
full term of four years each. 

He is a member of the South Street Presbyterian 
Church of Morristown. 




Edward Butterfield Vreeland. 



317 



EDWARD BUTTERFIELD VREELAND. 

Beginning about the year 1760, a considerable number 
of Bergen County folk emigrated by caravan to Pennsyl- 
vania, some of them settling there, and others going fur- 
ther to the Lake regions of New York State. 

Here the Jersey Dutchmen founded settlements and 
built their churches, in nearly a dozen different places, in- 
cluding the town of Cuba, Alleghany County, where the 
subject of our sketch was born in 1857, the son of Simon 
Vreeland, and the grandson of one of the same christian 
name. 

After receiving an academic education, at the age of 
twenty, he was appointed superintendent of schools of 
Salamanca, and served in this capacity for five years, in 
the meantime taking up the study of law. He was ad- 
mitted to practice in 1881, and attained considerable prom- 
inence, so much so that he was elected president of the 
Salamanca Trust Company. 

In addition to his banking interests, he is largely inter- 
ested in oil refining. 

In 1899, he was elected to Congress, and has served 
continuously ever since, at the last election receiving 32,- 
327 votes to 19,466 for his four opponents. He is a mem- 
ber of the Congressional Committees on Appropriations 
and Labor ; was chairman of the committee that investi- 
gated the hazing at the Naval Academy at Annapolis ; is 
joint author of the Aldrich- Vreeland act, providing for an 
emergency currency, and is vice-chairman of the National 
Monetarv Commission. 



318 



LITTLE DUTCH BABY. 

To Princess Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina of 
Holland. 

Little Dutch Baby, the gift that the stork 

Brought to the brave little land of the waters, 

May not the little Dutch town of New York 

Send you a greeting, most welcome of daughters? 

Little Dutch Baby, be true to your blood, 

True to the men who achieved your dominions ; 

Battle or tempest or fire or flood 

Never could alter their seated opinions. 

Rest in your cradle, content and serene. 
Sure of your people, whatever the play be. 

Whether as Princess or whether as Queen, 
Here's to your happiness. Little Dutch Baby ! 



A CORRECTION. 



At the time when the attention of the whole world was turned 
toward the Palace at the Hague, and possibly with the editor's mind 
affected by the old axiom, "The wish is father to the thought," the 
opening sentence of Chapter Four, on Page 23, was penned, and in 
the after completion of the book, its correction was overlooked. 

The last lines of the first paragraph should have read, " Her 
daughter born in the year of grace 1900 will be Queen of Holland 
some day, unless a son shall have come to bless the Royal 
Household. 




INDEX 



Abtskerke, lu, 113, 147. 

Acquackanonck, 93, 94-154. 

Ahasimos, 57. 

American Birthright, 49. 

Amsterdam, 83, loi, log, iii, 113, 190. 

Arms of Norway, 149. 

Bayonne, 69. 

Beggars of the Sea, 24, 114. 

Bergen, 58, 59, 63, 68, 69, 70, 89, 91, 114. 

Bergen County, 91, 131. 

Bergen op Zoom, 113, 114, 115. 

Brabant, 114, 115. 

Ceylon, 99. 

Coat of Arms, General, 90, 122. 

Coat of Arms, Vreeland, 122. 

Coins, Historic, 188. , 

Communipaw, 58, 59, 63, 69, 92, 115. 

Enoch \'reeland, 152, 157. 

East India Company, 99, 100. 

Ferry, 66. 

Friesland, 18, 22, 42, 77, 89, iii, 112, 115, 119. 

Freeland, 119, 121. 

Garret \"reeland, 140. 

Genealogy, 199. 

Goes, 112, 113. 

Governor Vreeland, 76, 100, loi. 

Greenville, 62, 69. 

Groningen, 22, 89, 112, 191. 

Hague, 14. 

Haarlem, 191. 

Hartman \^reeland, 116, 131, 136, 140, 152, 157, 158. 

Hartman Family, 162, 191. 

Holland, Map of, 26-27. 

Holland, People of, 33. 

Holland, Story of, 15. 

Holland, To-day, 41. 

Holland, Trip to, 194. 

Hudson, Henry, 29, 53, 54. 

Homesteads, Vreeland, 139, 142. 

Jansen, Michael, 9, 58, 59, 61, 76, 88, 90, 92, loi, 112, 115, 135, 146, 150, 

166, 192, 193. 
Jersey City, 53, 57, 63, 90. • 

Land Titles, 89. ' 

Leyden, 77, 189. 
Manners and Customs, 73. 
Michael \^reeland, 131. 
Aliddleburg, 40, 190. 
Mother \'reeland, 70, 76, 93, 116, 162. 
Motto of \'reelands, 123. 
Netherland, India, 190. 
New Netherland, 90, 91. 
New Amsterdam, 54, 83, 121. 
Newkirk, 78, 115. 
Nomenclature, 76. 
Oranje Boven, 30. 
Overyssel, 22, 89, 112. 
Passaic County, 91, 109, 153. 
Paulus Hook, 57, 63, 66, 92. 
Pavonia, 57, 63. 

Penn, William, 84, 87, 119, 124. 
Pilgrims, 120. 



320 

Religion, 43, 61. 

Seal of Vreeland, 103. 

Stuyvesant Governor, 53, 58, 80, 92, 150, 153, 192. 

South Beveland, 112, 113, 114. 147 ^ ' ^■^' ^ 

Taylor, (Rev.) B. C, 32 ^'^^ 

Utrecht, 22, 34, 75 89, 108, iii, 112, 121, 189. 

Utrecht, Bishop of, 104, 105, io6, 107, 109. 

Van Horn, 78, 115. ^ 

Van Rensselaer, 91, 146. 

Van Riper, 78, 115, 154. 

Van Wagenen, 78, 115, 154. 

Van Winkle, 78, 115, 154. 

Volhard Altydt, 128. 

Vredelant, Holland, 77, 103-110, 120. 

Vredeland, Westchester County, 120' 

Vreeland, Fort, New York, 137. 

Vreelandville, Michigan, 256. 

Vreeland, Andrew, 295. 

Vreeland, Charles E., 179. 

Vreeland, Cornelius, 158-289. 

Vreeland, Edward B., 317. 

Vreeland, Ferdinand, 294. 

Vreeland, Frank Stryker, 321. 

Vreeland, Francis William, 308. 

Vreeland, Garret, 79, 99, 100, 140, 306. 

Vreeland, George, 140, 290. 

Vreeland, George Franklyn, 296. 

Vreeland, George Washington, 294. 

Vreeland, Hartman, 94. 

Vreeland, Herbert H., 302. 

Vreeland, John Elias, 285. 

Vreeland, John Beam, 314. 

Vreeland, Michael James, 178. 

Vreeland, Nehemiah, 134, 189-199, 286. 

Vreeland, Nicholas, 140, 146, 157, 287.' 

Vreeland, Nicholas Garretson, 308. 

Vreeland Motto, 127. 

Vreeland Motto Song, 129. 

Vreeland, Mother, 70, 76, 93, 116. 

Vreeland, Oliver P., 152. 

Vreeland, Record, 131. 

Vreeland, Sophia, 70, ■;(,, 93, 116, 146. 

Vreeland Seal, 103. 

Vreeland, Castle, 21, 104. 

Vreeland Coat of Arms, 122, 123, 124. 

Vreelands, Fighting, 165. 

Vreeland vs. Freeland, 119. 

Vreeland Genealogy, 199. 

Vreeland Homesteads, 142. 

Vreeland Motto Song, 128. 

Vreeland Polders, 113. 

Vreelands, The, 21, 61, 63, 66, 69, 76. 

Vreeland Name, yy, 78, 115. 

Vreeland, an Old Family, 99. 

Vreeland Record, 131. , 

Vreeland, Seal of, 103. 

Vreeland, Town of, 104. 

Walcheren, 99, 112, 190. 

War, Civil, 175. 

War, 1812, 173. 

War, Mexican, 174. 

War, Revolutionary, 168. 

War Times, Recollections, 182. 

Washington, Coat of Arms, 124, 171. 

William of Orange, 31, 79, 124. 

West India Company, 54, 76, 90, 120, 148. 

Women Suffrage, 161. 

Winfield, 12, 200. 

Zeeland, 22, 34, 76, 89, iii, 112, 113, 115, 122, 147, 190. 



ILl.US.TR.flTIONS 



jn 



Abram and Hannah Vreeland, 88. 

Andrew Vreeland, 157. 

Arms of Norway, 149. 

Abram H. Vreeland (Rev.), 198. 

Itergen, Map of, 58. 

Binnenhof, Hague, 14. 

Charles E. Vreeland, 180. - 

Claas and Catrinje, 70. 

Coat of Arms, 126. 

Coins of Holland, 188, 191. 

Communipaw, 56. 

Cornelius Vreeland, 159. 

Edward B. Vreeland, 316. 

Elias Vreeland, 198. 

English Neighborhood, 246. 

Ferry at Paulus Hook, 65. 

Francis W. Vreeland, 310. 

Franklin Vreeland, 118. 

Frank Stryker Vreeland, 

Garret and Catherine Vreeland, 96. 

Garret and Jane Vreeland, 82. 

General Vreeland's Birthplace, 137. 

George Vreeland, 291, 293. 

George F. Vreeland, 297. 

Going to Church, 51. 

Hague Council Hall, 14. 

Half Moon, 52. 

Hartman Vreeland Homestead, 139. 

Herbert H. Vreeland, 303. 

Holland Interior, z^,. 

Holland, Map of, 26-27. , 

Holland People, 32-38. 

Homesteads, Vreeland, 142. 

Hudson, Hendrik, 45. 

Jacob Vreeland, 198. 

Jan de Lachers Hook, "jz. 

John B. Vreeland, 314. 

John E. Vreeland, 284. 

Map of Holland, 26-27. 

Margaret Day Vreeland, 160. 

Michael Jansen Vreeland, 146. 

Michael James Vreeland, 164. 

Middleburg Town Hall, 40. 

Millat Paulus Hook, 65. 

Nehemiah Vreeland, 134. 

Nicholas Vreeland, 287. 

Nicholas G. Vreeland, Frontispiece. 

Nutley, Homestead, 137. 

Paulus Hook, 65. 

Peter D. \'ree!and, 320. 

Road to Vreeland, Holland, 163. 

Rotterdam Steamer, 195. 

Stadthuis, Misdleburg, 40. 

Stuyvesant's Home, 80. 

Stuyvesant, Peter, 153. 

Taylor, (Rev.) B. C, 60. 

Teunis Vreeland, 167. 

Utrecht, 75. 

Vreeland Homesteads, 142. 

Vreeland Seal, 103. 

Vreeland Town, 102. 

Vreeland, Road to, 163. 

Water Trip, 62. 

Woolen Mill, 137. 



ADDENDA AND ERRATA* 

Page 14 — RinnenhoF, 1742 — S'Graven Hage. 

Begun in 1250 by Count William of Holland. It is used in 
part as a Council Hall. 
Page 40 — Stadthuis (City Hall), Middleburg, 1743. 

The tower dates from 1507 ; the facade is adorned with 25 
statues of Counts and Countesses of Zeeland and Holland. 
Page 55 — Canal in Broad Street, New Amsterdam, in 1642. This 
extended from the Battery to Beaver Street, where it nar- 
rowed to a ditch which drained the swamp, converting it 
into a sheep pasture. 
Page 58 — Plan of Bergen Square and vicinity, 1660. 
Page 134 — Number should be 1532. 
Page 23— Sixth line, change "son" to "daughter." 
Seventh line, change '*King" to "Queen." 



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